Jam Camp North, a non-profit music camp for all ages, is looking for participants to join them at Cottonwood House this summer from July 29 to August 2.
“It’s a great opportunity for friends or families to come enjoy making music together and improve their skills,” says Nancy Lilienweiss, who co-ordinates the camp.
Participants can camp with a tent, an RV, or rent a cabin. It costs $175 per person for the entire four days and covers camping and activities — participants will have to supply their own food, although there is a kitchen on site. The fee goes largely toward the musicians who instruct at the camp.
The camp offers singing, guitar, percussion, accordion and even musical theatre training. Children will generally work together, as adults break off into smaller groups to perfect their craft or learn something new.
Lilienweiss, who sings, says that people of all levels of experience are welcome, even if they’ve never touched an instrument before. Campers range in age from five to 80 years old, and Lilienweiss is hoping to have between 40 and 50 people attend the camp.
She brought the camp to the north after attending a different Jam Camp on Salt Spring Island with her daughter a few years ago. She says, “We thought that people in the north would love this opportunity.”
They hosted a successful Jam Camp North in 2016, but the 2017 camp was cancelled due to the wildfires.
It’ll be Anna Baignoche’s first time at Jam Camp North, but she’s been teaching at other Jam Camps for the past 10 years. Baignoche is an instructor at the Sarah McLaughlin School of Music in Vancouver, has released three albums, and has performed in CBC’s Canada Live Studio One Mother Tongue series. She’s also a singing instructor at this years Jam Camp North.
“[Jam Camps], to me, are the way people should learn music,” says Baignoche. “All generations coming together to make music together. It just feels really right to me. It’s a beautiful kind of community.”
Registration for the camp closes on July 1. Visit http://www.jamcamp.org/ for more details on how to register.
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