Hello all swing camp participants. The camp is coming up in a few days!

We have 40 confirmed attendees from Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, and Lethbridge. We have a good mix of instruments so we’ll be able to split into several jams according to level and interest. There are quite a few guitar players, several violins and a viola, mandolin, one accordion, two ukuleles, one clarinet, a couple of melodica, a sax and three upright basses. We have three jam locations: a central gazebo, one beginner-level gazebo, and one back in the trees for whatever. We can split up according to skill level or music interest. Or start your own jam anywhere. If you can, please bring a gazebo in case we need sun shade and/or rain protection.

Directions

Directions have been sent privately to registered workshop participants only. I will be setting up some signs at key intersections to help navigate. They might not be up until 1 or 2 PM though.

Practical Stuff

Water/SaniDump/Toilets: If you need potable water for your trailer before arriving at camp, and dumping afterwards, you can check www.sanidumps.com. For those on the road from the north, there is a good free sani station in Lacombe at Michener Park: Michener Park (Dump Station #1964) (sanidumps.com).

We will have have three portapotties and a hand-washing station with hand-sanitizer on site. If you have an RV, use that to minimize the load.

Electricity: There is electricity on site (at Brenda’s house), but not enough to power everybody’s trailers without tripping breakers. Also, this is Brenda’s personal power bill so let’s go easy on it. I will set up my trailer on power and have some power bars available at my trailer for charging devices. Otherwise, don’t plan on using much for electricity.

Internet: There is cellular coverage at the site but it’s a little weak. I will bring a WiFi setup, connected through Brenda’s internet connection so we will have some WiFi access throughout the campsite. This is Brenda’s connection so be easy on the content. We’ll use this mostly for sharing charts and files, but please don’t stream too much or you’ll bog down the connection. I’ll provide login information on site.

Food: This is an informal jam camp so we don’t have any vendors on site. So please bring whatever you need for yourself. There are some restaurants in nearby towns: Bowden about 15 minutes away, Olds about 20 minutes away.

We are planning to order continental breakfasts for the instructors on Saturday and Sunday mornings so if you want to get in on an order we can add you in for about $10. Please let us know if you’re interested by the evening before.

We are planning to order suppers for the instructors. If you want to get in on an order for the Saturday supper, we will put in an order from the Tasty Thai restaurant in Olds by about 1 PM Saturday, to pick it up by about 5 PM Saturday night. Please bring some cash to pay for that in advance: it’ll be about $25 depending on your items, and add in a couple extra dollars for gas money for people picking it up.

Cash: You won’t need much on site. But if you want t-shirts or a food order, please bring some cash.

T-shirts: This year we are getting 25 camp t-shirts printed. Some people ordered in advance, but we will also have various sizes available on site. The price is $30 each. Please bring cash for those.

Charts: Please bring whatever charts you think you need: electronic or paper. iReal Pro on tablet devices works really great. I have a few paper jam binders as well.

Waiver: This camp is growing so we figured we should have a simple waiver for people to sign. Please connect with Brenda when you arrive to sign the waiver.

Workshops

Instructors

Cam Neufeld: swing violin

Rick Moore: intermediate guitar.

Kevin Jacobson: introduction to swing and hot-club guitar chords.

Jeremy Doody: intermediate guitar

Schedule

This is a fairly informal camp so the schedule might change a bit, but here’s the plan.

Friday

Your host Brenda is on site. Kevin and Rick will be at the site by noon or so. If you’re here early, we’ll be setting up camp and other logistics so we won’t have much time to chat until later. It’s best to arrive between about 2 PM and 5 PM. There will be an introductory meeting at the main jam gazebo at 7 PM.

Detailed Schedule here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1grVmbaVwWzOUTGq3wMCnx900O3MpAXZ_/view?usp=drive_link

See you on the weekend! Kevin.