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WHO: You!
WHAT: A fun-filled weekend of dancing, workshops, crafts, and social time with a warm community of LGBTQ+ and allied dancers and friends
WHERE: The Ashokan Center, Olivebridge, NY
WHEN: Friday, October 18 to Sunday, October 20, 2024
HOW: Registration is currently open!

We'll have Contra Dancing led by Ben Sachs-Hamilton, English Country Dancing led by Melissa Running. Music by Thunderwing: Cedar Stanistreet on fiddle, Benjamin Foss on fiddle, banjo, and guitar, and Amy Englesberg on piano and accordion. There will also be lots of camper-led activities and workshops!
Picture
Photo credit: Alan Duffy
We will be at a new venue this fall, The Ashokan Center in Olivebridge, NY. The Ashokan Center is an independent music and nature nonprofit established in 2008. Ashokan supports and develops environmental education programs, as well as hosting music and dance camps. For more information about The Ashokan Center, click here.

All dancing at LCFD camps is gender free, with no gendered terms used in teaching and calling. The strength of our community is in its diversity, and people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, and levels of dance experience are encouraged to come and bring their whole selves to the event.

If you have any questions, please write to [email protected].

2024 Camp Staff

Ben Sachs-Hamilton started contra dancing at 12 and started teaching dances at 15. Since then he has called and organized for dances across the northeast, with a focus on LGBTQ and gender-role-free dance communities. He fosters a welcoming and inclusive space for diverse groups of new and experienced dancers, adding tips on style and safety into his teaching. Ben currently lives in Western Massachusetts.
Melissa Running discovered folk dance as a PE credit at college in the Philadelphia suburbs. She has lived in the Philly and DC areas as an adult; she calls, writes tunes and dances, plays (piano and some nyckelharpa), and dances wherever she can. Interests outside of dance and her government tech-writing day job include fiber arts, native plants and ecosystems, food, 18th-century material culture, and cats. She is still trying to major in everything.
Thunderwing is Cedar Stanistreet on fiddle, Benjamin Foss on fiddle, banjo, and guitar, and Amy Englesberg on piano and accordion. Together they draw upon their wide-ranging musical experiences to create their own kind of party within the New England contra dance tradition. Their electrifying energy will leave you soaring and stomping in delight!

Pricing

The LCFD Camp Committee does everything we can to keep the cost to attend as low as possible. This year, we expect it will cost us about $300 per person to make camp run, which includes lodging on site, dinner Friday, three meals Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday, plus snacks! In the interest of accessibility, we have adopted a sliding scale based on campers' ability to pay.

Please consider carefully how much you are able to contribute so that we can make camp accessible to everyone who wants to attend. If none of the listed levels feels appropriate to you, feel free to select "Other" and note how much you are able to pay. Please reach out to the [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
  • Superstar: $500
  • Donor: $450 (This level will support one camper attending at the reduced price tier)
  • Supporting: $375
  • At-Cost: $300
  • Reduced: $150 (Also a good choice for kids)
Cancellations are fully refundable through September 15. After September 15, we will refund all but $100, which may be applied as a credit to a future camp.

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