Moosejaw 2018 will be March 9 – 11, 2018 at the Maplelag Cross-Country Ski Resort near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, about 4 hours northwest of the Twin Cities.

We’ll begin posting updated information on Moosejaw 2018 in November. In the meantime, here’s some information from last year to give you an idea about the weekend.

We hope you’ll join us on March 10-12, 2017 for our annual dance weekend with The Foghorn Stringband and Cajun Country Revival, and caller Caroline Oakley, at the Maplelag Cross-Country Ski Resort near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, about 4 hours northwest of the Twin Cities.

The cloggers began hosting the Moosejaw dance and music weekend 30+ years ago to provide an opportunity to take workshops in old-time music, clogging, square and contra dancing, and other traditional dance forms from national and local musicians, teachers, and artists.

The weekend features evening dances on Friday and Saturday night, workshops during the day on Saturday and Sunday, and lots of jamming all day long. Other highlights include skiing, hot tubbing, a woodburning sauna, and four endless cookie jars.

Homemade midwestern-style food and lodging at the beautiful Maplelag resort are included in the registration cost. The weekend is open to dancers and musicians of any experience level.

REGISTRATION:

You may register online and pay by credit card or PayPal, or download the form and mail it in with check, cash, or money order.

To register online complete the Moosejaw 2017 Online Registration Form by March 1, 2017.

If you would rather mail in your registration form, download the paper form. The form is due by March 1, 2017.

Partial Volunteer Scholarships and 2 full-ride Fellowships are also available. (The deadline has now passed. We will notify recipients shortly.)

For questions or comments, please email: moosejawdanceweekend@gmail.com

MOOSEJAW 2017 STAFF!

We are pleased to announce our staff for our 2017 weekend!

Old-Time Music by The Foghorn Stringband

foghorn-stringband-ire_41The Foghorn Stringband is the present day shining gold standard for American string band music, with eight albums, thousands of shows, over a decade of touring under their belts, and an entirely new generation of old-time musicians following their lead. Through all this, they’ve never let the music grow cold; instead they’ve been steadily proving that American roots music is a never-ending well of inspiration.

The music of The Foghorn Stringband today, as heard on their new album Devil In The Seat, revolves around four master musicians: Portland, Oregon-based Caleb Klauder (vocals, mandolin, fiddle) and Reeb Willms (vocals, guitar), and Quebec-based Nadine Landry (vocals, upright bass) and Stephen ‘Sammy’ Lind (vocals, fiddle, banjo). Each member of The Foghorn Stringband comes not only from a different part of the American roots music spectrum, but leads the pack in their field as well. Caleb Klauder’s wistful, keening vocals and rapid-fire mandolin picking are as influenced by Southern roots music as much as by his upbringing in Washington State. Also from Washington, Reeb Willms grew up in the state’s Eastern farmlands singing hard-bitten honky-tonk with her family. Nadine Landry’s roots lie in the rural backroads of Acadian Québec, but she cut her teeth as one of the best bluegrass bassists in Western Canada. Minnesotan Stephen ‘Sammy’ Lind, simply put, is one of the best old-time fiddlers of his generation and has a voice that sounds like it’s coming from an old 78.

Cajun and Country music by Cajun Country Revival (Jesse Lége and Joel Savoy plus The Foghord Stringband!)  

ccr-imageSpanning generations from across the nation the Cajun Country Revival is a veritable supergroup of American roots musicians. Comprised of Cajun musicians Jesse Lége and Joel Savoy and The Foghorn Stringband, this group presents a music that seems to embody all of the things that make life wonderful and together they’ve delighted audiences around the world celebrating rather than “performing” the music that brought them together: Cajun music and early Country music.

Son of Cajun music royalty Marc and Ann and the founder of the Louisiana-based label Valcour Records, Joel Savoy is a GRAMMY winner for his production work with The Band Courtbouillon and a nine-time GRAMMY nominee, as well as a two-time winner of the Cajun French Music Association’s Fiddler of the Year Award. Having grown up literally at the feet of the Cajun great he represents his culture with an authority that few people his age can and his playing leaves no doubt that Cajun music is still very much alive. He has worked and played with the best of the best in south Louisiana as well as folks like John Fogerty, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Earle, and T-Bone Burnett.

Sharing the stage with Joel for the last 15 years is the legendary Cajun powerhouse, Jesse Lége. Growing up in a rural pre-electricity home in Gueydan, LA, Jesse spoke Cajun French and learned music from relatives, neighbors, and the family’s much-loved battery-powered radio. Today he is one of the most admired Cajun accordionists and vocalists in the world, known especially for his high, clear, “crying” vocals. Jesse has been playing traditional Cajun music and singing Cajun French songs for over 35 years performing with a variety of well-known musicians in various Louisiana and southeast Texas dancehalls. He is a winner of numerous CFMA awards: Traditional Band of the Year, Accordion Player of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Band of the Year, and Song of the Year. In 1998 he was inducted into the Cajun Music Hall of Fame.

Caller Caroline Oakley

Caroline Oakley is a musician, dance caller, and community organizer who has been teaching and calling old-time community square dances for over a decade.   She learned to call in Portland, Oregon, during the rise of its most recent square dance revival at the turn of this century, from the revered Bill Martin.  Martin emphasized that folks come to a community dance to enjoy themselves; he always said, “It’s a party first, a dance second.”  He punctuated the importance of not taking one’s self too seriously as a dance caller.

On calling, Caroline says, “I learned from Bill, to have a relaxed teaching style.  I laugh a lot and seek the joyful moments that arise amongst the seas of dancers I find spread before me.  I lean towards Southern dances and visiting couple squares, but not exclusively.  As a caller I am interested in the power of community dancing to bring people from all walks of life together in a meaningful and merry way.”


This year’s theme is The State Fair (AKA Minnesota’s Great Get-Together, or Moosejaw-on-a-stick, if you will).  
Start working on your costumes to show off during the annual costume parade on Saturday night of the weekend.

FELLOWSHIPS & VOLUNTEER SCHOLARSHIPS 

There are 2 full-ride fellowships available for first time attendees ages 21 and older. (The deadline to apply has now passed. We will notify recipients shortly.)

There are also a limited number of volunteer scholarships available. These are open to attendees of any age and are not restricted to first time attendees. Volunteer scholarships recipients are selected by lottery and attend the weekend for $155. (The deadline to apply has now passed. We well notify recipients shortly.)