Hi folks, Just came out of the Maine woods a few days ago. Phwew.. For the last almost 20 years I have been honored to be involved with Maine Fiddle Camp (MFC), a multi-generational traditional music camp not just for fiddles but 14 or 15 instruments!! MFC began in 1994 as a single June weekend camp in Montville, Maine with a small teaching staff (less than 20) who taught fiddle, guitar, piano, flute/pennywhistle, banjo, maybe a few others. The mission was to teach the music and dance traditions of Maine and New England and the areas of influence like Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The venue was “Camp NEOFA,” a kids’ summer camp run by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) for their “northeast region” (hence the name). NEOFA was and still is a very rustic camp designed to hold about 80 campers max. There were small bunk cabins with no electricity or running water, a bath house for all “plumbing related” stuff, and a very small kitchen/dining hall for food. Fiddle Camp was the brainchild of Greg Boardman, but our present “fearless leader,” Doug Protsik, took over the reins around 1997 and has been our director ever since. MFC celebrated its 30th year in 2024 (there was one year off for those of you doing the math!), We now have 4 camp sessions, a weekend and a full week in June and two August week-long sessions. The teaching staff is up to near 50 and we had to cut off the registration numbers at around 300 for each camp! OK… how is this possible and what happened? (Read on)

I can’t count the number of folks I’ve heard say, “Maine Fiddle Camp just isn’t LIKE other camps!” I’ll try to explain why. First of all, MFC is truly a multi-generational (ages 6-90) music camp with teaching at all levels (AND interaction between the generations!). There are 12 fiddle levels, 1-6 – beginner to advanced for both kids and adults. Other instruments aren’t broken down as much but there is still an appropriate class for any level, adult or youth, for these instruments: Accordion, Banjo, Bass, Concertina, Cello, Fiddle, Flute/Pennywhistle, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Mountain Dulcimer, Piano, Ukulele, Singing. Here is a list of present and past staff: Staff (mainefiddlecamp.org). Look at the staff. Sure there are some world class names in there and they are a BIG part of MFC, but there are really great folk musicians that you probably never heard of. MFC staff are hired to be good teachers, not “big names.” The “staff page” above has links to all the staff bios.. Take a look! Another thing that made MFC grow so quickly is the amazing sense of community and volunteerism at Camp. The MFC community (and I mean staff AND campers) took a small camp designed of 80 kids and expanded it to house, feed and teach 250+ campers. This was done first by setting up a “Main Tent” which became the center of camp.

Other tents were setup for dining and an expanded outdoor kitchen, and of course the classes which took place in “nests,” each named after a bird found in Maine (e.g. guitars are “Martins,” you get the idea). Other camp activities are concerts, old time country dancing (note: we have a foxtrot and waltz at the end of each evening dance where we assemble a dance orchestra with ukuleles and, wait for it, HORNS, (coronet, trumpet, French horn, Sax, trombone, clarinet, tuba, more!!). Yes, just like the old time dances in Maine had (the following video should tell the whole story), singing around the campfire, a ‘dinner theater’ called “Maestro Bistro” when staff members perform, jam session at all levels, both “guided” and spontaneous, and of course typical camp activities like swimming, games for the kids, etc. Everyone can participate and everyone helps out (sweeping floors, moving chairs, kitchen, etc) In addition to MUSIC, the sense of community and “we’re all in this together” pervades camp..

For accommodations, while unaccompanied kids stayed in the cabins with counselors and some families stay in cabins too, many campers camp in tents or RV’s or camp trailers. A tent village sprung up on the shores of True’s Pond adding to the sense of community for sure! Oh yeah, the food! Also not like many other camps, the food is healthy, organic wherever possible, locally sourced and attention is always made for special dietary needs! Plus it is always fresh and TASTES good!!!

Maine Fiddle Camp is international too. We have had campers from all over North America, Europe, Australia, who knows what’s next? One year we had a camper from France who was riding his bicycle around the world! (OK, he got help crossing the oceans). He had harmonicas and a little one row button accordion in his pannier!

TYPICAL SCHEDULE

 

 

Eric Favreau, from Quebec, has been a mainstay at Maine Fiddle Camp for the past decade or two. He’s a great fiddler, composer, historian/musicologist and story teller. Here he is with the Buffleheads

John Pranio has been on the MFC staff since day one! This year he had the “Herons” nest, level 5 adults, for the second August week. Here they are playing a tune John heard while he was taking a shower in the dining hall.. (to be clear, he was in the bathroom in the dining hall). Here’s the video:

One of the musical highlights of every MFC session is the dining tent jam just before lunch on the last day. This used to occur sort of spontaneously, but it is very much expected now. Here’s part of the jam from August week 2. “Fisher’s Hornpipe” and “Ragtime Annie” (the “long” version, with “C” part in G, of course). Here’s the video:

Susie Burke and David Surette were a big part of the 2^nd August week for years at MFC. Dave passed away in 2022 leaving a big hole in everyone’s heart. Susie has pressed on. Here she is singing a song in the dinnertime “Maestro Bistro.. David wrote it: “Here Those Trumpets Play.”

There ya go, MFC 2025 is history, but we are already planning for 2026. Here’s the LINK again. Check it out and maybe we’ll see you next year!

And *I* will see you all next month – bill