The Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party has been growing over the last seven years despite slight confusion by some that it was a Tupperware convention held every year.
For the week of Aug. 12 to 16, the sun glistened off of Kenosee Lake and birds sang melodies in the trees only to be joined by the music of the Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party reverberating through the wilderness.
In August of 2006 Michele Amy and Will Elliot held the very first camp with the help of a number of fiddling instructors and Father David Banga.
That first year the camp offered one week and had approximately 50 campers. Through hard work and dedication the Kitchen Party is now a two week camp, which saw 117 music students attend in the first week this year. Meaning they have increased their attendance exponentially.
Last year they even earned the title of largest traditional fiddle camp in Canada.
Over seven years it has been built into a southeast Saskatchewan institution and co-founders Amy and Elliot couldn't be happier about sharing their love of traditional music.
The camp offers fiddle, piano, choir/vocals, guitar/vocals, guitar, banjo, and mandolin.
"It's a great team, it's pretty unbelievable the energy at the camp," Amy explains of her campers and instructors.
Amy has also explained that the support of the community has been amazing as they hold concerts each night.
"We have a lot of local people coming in for concerts, with around 300 to 400 people every night," Amy says.
Though a small venue, Amy is happy to have people embrace what they are doing and give their support to the camp each evening.
The concerts consist of three nights of instructors performing, while the fourth night is the Pig N' Whistle which is essentially a talent showcase of various groups who have been practicing, a string band, vocal groups, and solo acts. The final night of the five day camp is then the student showcase where the campers take to the stage in their groups with their instructors and perform what they have been working on for the duration of the camp.
Though the camp has run along this same format since its inauguration, this year was difficult for many returning as well as the co-founders. Amy explained that this was their first year without Father Banga, who passed away last winter while in India where he was helping to develop a boarding school and ministering to the community there.
Amy said that this loss was felt by everyone who knew him at the camp and all missed his presence this year. He had been with them from the start offering a facility, the Boys and Girls Camp, as well as encouraging the camp to grow and prosper.
In honour of Father Banga the campers and instructors were asked to wear plaid in his memory on the night of the talent show. According to camp organizers, Father Banga used to always be found around the camp in plaid and the organizers felt that it was a fun way to remember the man who had helped them achieve the camp's success.
