Weekend at a Glance
Thursday, January 7th
Winter Village Music Camp will kick off our 2027 camp with an opening concert at CSMA’s Martha Hamblin Hall. The show will be from 7:30 to 9:30 pm with performers including Shane Cook and the Contradictions and Sami Bramin, Joe Dicosimo, and the Ithaca Old Time All Stars. Before the show, there will be free happy hour music at the Bike Bar, located next door to the Canopy Hotel and the Community School of Music & Arts (CSMA). At 4:00 pm the bar will host an old-time jam followed by a performer to be determined playing from 5:15 to 7:15 pm.
You can expect jam sessions in the Canopy lounge and workshop rooms before and after the opening concert (maybe even during the concert!).
The Canopy Hotel’s discounted camp weekend room rates will be available on Thursday night for campers who arrive early to attend the opening concert and Friday’s morning workshop sessions.
Friday, January 8th
Workshops sessions on Friday morning begin at 9:30 am Friday morning with a warm up orientation session for old time, bluegrass. and Irish players along with a song circle of bluegrassers, folk singers and singer-songwriters. After the opening warmup sessions workshops, there will be instrument, singing and songwriting sessions continuing throughout the day until dinner.
At 5:00 pm there will be an opening reception in the Canopy’s Strand Cafe where campers can meet the faculty and also jump into some jam sessions to be held in the Canopy Lounge and a couple of CSMA workshop rooms. At the Bike Bar there will be a happy hour Irish session from 4:00 - 5:00 pm at the Bike Bar followed by an old time band (TBD) performing from 5:15 to 7:15 pm.
This year, we are trying something different and hosting two social dances from 7:30 to 9:30 pm in Martha Hamblin Hall. For the first hour we will have a contradance hosted by Ithaca’s own Contradictions. During the second hour we have a square dance with a faculty old time band. The dances will be followed by facilitated jam sessions for campers in different styles and skill levels, led by camp faculty at 9:30 pm.
Saturday, January 10th
Saturday will begin with early-riser jam sessions at 8:00 am. This will be followed by two 75 minute instructional workshops at 9:15 and 10:45 am. Enjoy lunch at the Strand Cafe, at nearby restaurants, or join us for a brown bag lunch panel on Social Media for Working Musicians. Ithaca Stringed Instruments will also have a display set up during lunch and into the afternoon. After lunch there will be two sixty-minute afternoon workshops at 1:30 and 2:45 pm followed by 4:00 pm special band workshops, casual concerts and master classes. Dinner will begin at 5pm at the Strand Cafe and out in downtown. For happy hour, another TBD band will perform at the Bike Bar from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.
The popular Camp All-Faculty Concert will be on Saturday evening from 7:30 to 10:00 pm in CSMA’s Hamblin Hall and feature a series of performances by camp faculty and special guests. The concert always sells out so get your tickets early. Tickets for the All-Faculty Concert are included in the camp registration fee for weekend campers. After the concert there will be jams at CSMA and throughout the hotel in all styles and experience levels.
Sunday, January 11th
Sunday morning will begin with early riser jam sessions and a song circle. This will be followed by two 60-minute morning workshops at 9:30 and 10:45 am. After lunch, two afternoon workshops will be held at 1:30 and 2:45 pm.
The closing Sunday Camp Concert will be from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in Martha Hamblin Hall and feature The Gibson Brothers and Michael Daves & Friends. Please note that tickets for the opening and closing concerts are NOT included in the weekend registration fee but can be purchased at a reduced rate for campers.