聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Over a decade ago Will Elliot and Michele Amy developed聽 an idea, which quickly evolved into a dream, of hosting a music camp at the Kenosee Lake Boys and Girls Camp.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There would be all of the fun camp activities of swimming, kayaking, camp fires, and being in nature; but, it would also focus on music and with an ever-growing fiddle community in the area it felt right.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The first camp was held in August 2006 with a number of fiddling instructors and the help of Father David Banga. It was one week long and approximately 50 participants attended. Through hard work and dedication, Elliot and Amy have grown the event over the years.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Now the camp is run two weeks every year with, approximately 120 people attending each week.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have difficulty filling the camp,鈥� Amy laughs. 鈥淲e really like our facility and don鈥檛 want to outgrow it, but we also like the small community-focused atmosphere.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The camp has also expanded over the years from fiddling, guitar, and piano 鈥� fiddling is still the largest section of the camp 鈥� to include mandolin, banjo, choir, and cello.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ur original concept hasn鈥檛 changed, it was clear what we wanted to do, so our core principals are the same, we鈥檝e just grown. Our staff has changed, we like to keep that dynamic, and as the camp grows we like to rotate the staff looking for musicians to add to our roster of teachers.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The camp draws in people from across Canada to enjoy instruction from some of the best Canadian traditional musicians from coast to coast, including fiddlers who have competed at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Each night, during the weeklong camp, performances are hosted in the evening. Three nights out of the week instructors perform, the Pig N' Whistle (a kind of talent showcase for anyone interested), while the Friday night is the student showcase.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Although groups only perform one or two songs during the student showcase, they come away with numerous songs and a great experience settled at Kenosee Lake.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭his year was super, it was great,鈥� Amy said. 鈥淲e had a wonderful staff and a lovely time.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 One of the great parts about the camp that Amy was pleased to see with two of her past fiddling students, Amy Poirier and Patrick Tinant, was that they had started out as campers learning to fiddle.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think the purpose of the camp is to make way for new blood and new instructors, and they are great teachers and players, so we were very happy to have them come out.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t just shows our hard work over the years and our goals for bringing people up with the ideas and principles of the camp works.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ultimately Amy says that over the last decade the true heart of what they鈥檙e doing at the camp is building a community.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e鈥檙e really just building community where volunteerism, looking after each others鈥� kids, and true rural values in how we eat, play, and interact,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a microcosm of a lovely culture, of a community that people need. People today are more disconnected and are in need of community. Our instructing is fantastic, but I think it鈥檚 the community that brings people back each year. It鈥檚 real people, a real community, and that鈥檚 not something people are getting on their computer screens, so they鈥檙e searching for that.鈥�
