Ashokan Music & Dance Camps
The Ashokan Center, 477 Beaverkill Rd., Olivebridge, NY 12461
About
Ashokan Music & Dance Camps offers singing, dancing, jamming, classes, workshops, dances, jams, sing-alongs, concerts, and festivals. Camp sessions include themed programs such as Scottish String Fling, Son Jarocho Camp, Ukulele Weekend, Old Time Rollick, Western & Swing Week, Northern Week, Acoustic Guitar Camp, Family Camp, Bluegrass Week, Southern Week, Banjo Weekend, and events featuring Vintage Jazz, Swing, Western-Swing, Classic Country music and dancing. The program includes on-site lodging or camping and meals, and also provides video lessons and workshops for ukulele, guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, accordion, piano, bass, and harmony singing through the Ashokan Archive.
• Ages: 0–18 years old
Ashokan Music & Dance Camps features traditional music and dance from New England, Québec, England, Sweden, and France, as well as bluegrass instruction and jamming for guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bass, vocals, and songwriting. Some camps focus on Cajun, Créole, and Zydeco music, Old Time string band music, and related square dance, Cajun dance, and Zydeco party events, along with eclectic live roots music. Ashokan Family Camp is described as a laid-back, cross-generational escape into nature, music, arts, crafts, and interactive fun and games, and welcomes babies, teens, parents, and grandparents. The program states that beginners are welcome, offers a full list of camp weeks and weekends, and notes that campers under 18 must be accompanied by a registered parent or guardian.
The Ashokan Center, which runs these camps, is an independent music and nature nonprofit established in 2008 with a mission to inspire learning and build community through shared experiences in nature, history, music, and art. Its site has been declared a Historic District on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, and the land has a history as a favored hunting and fishing ground for the Munsee Indians and as the location of the first mill and blacksmith shop in Ulster County, later home to Winchell’s Inn. The organization states that its staff are naturalists, cooks, musicians, administrators, stewards, organizers, problem-solvers, community-builders, and teachers, and that it values the preservation of historic crafts and traditions while supporting lifelong experiential learning. It describes itself as a welcoming community to all, valuing interactions across age groups and generations, and states that all are welcome.
The Ashokan Center notes that its composting initiative reduces food waste significantly and teaches mindfulness and respect for the planet and for those who grow and cook the food. It reports that new campus buildings were constructed for efficient energy use, that it has received 100% of its electricity from solar since 2018, and that it is committed to a zero carbon footprint by 2030. Ashokan Center programming is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The organization also states that its phone is answered Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm, that the site is closed to the public except during public events or on “Day Pass” days, and that families can subscribe to the Ashokan Archive to view over 300 video lessons and workshops from 2020 and 2021.
Last updated May 23, 2026.
• Ages: 0–18 years old
Ashokan Music & Dance Camps features traditional music and dance from New England, Québec, England, Sweden, and France, as well as bluegrass instruction and jamming for guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bass, vocals, and songwriting. Some camps focus on Cajun, Créole, and Zydeco music, Old Time string band music, and related square dance, Cajun dance, and Zydeco party events, along with eclectic live roots music. Ashokan Family Camp is described as a laid-back, cross-generational escape into nature, music, arts, crafts, and interactive fun and games, and welcomes babies, teens, parents, and grandparents. The program states that beginners are welcome, offers a full list of camp weeks and weekends, and notes that campers under 18 must be accompanied by a registered parent or guardian.
The Ashokan Center, which runs these camps, is an independent music and nature nonprofit established in 2008 with a mission to inspire learning and build community through shared experiences in nature, history, music, and art. Its site has been declared a Historic District on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, and the land has a history as a favored hunting and fishing ground for the Munsee Indians and as the location of the first mill and blacksmith shop in Ulster County, later home to Winchell’s Inn. The organization states that its staff are naturalists, cooks, musicians, administrators, stewards, organizers, problem-solvers, community-builders, and teachers, and that it values the preservation of historic crafts and traditions while supporting lifelong experiential learning. It describes itself as a welcoming community to all, valuing interactions across age groups and generations, and states that all are welcome.
The Ashokan Center notes that its composting initiative reduces food waste significantly and teaches mindfulness and respect for the planet and for those who grow and cook the food. It reports that new campus buildings were constructed for efficient energy use, that it has received 100% of its electricity from solar since 2018, and that it is committed to a zero carbon footprint by 2030. Ashokan Center programming is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The organization also states that its phone is answered Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm, that the site is closed to the public except during public events or on “Day Pass” days, and that families can subscribe to the Ashokan Archive to view over 300 video lessons and workshops from 2020 and 2021.
Last updated May 23, 2026.
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