Program Pricing
Two-night (arriving Thursday 7/6)
$480/person - Shared Bathroom
$530/person - Private Bathroom (tub only)
$580/person - Private Bathroom (w/ shower)
Three-night (arriving Friday 7/7)
$720/person - Shared Bathroom
$795/person - Private Bathroom (tub only)
$870/person - Private Bathroom (w/shower)
* All Inclusive
Drawing on folk music traditions, from the ballads of Appalachia to the songs of working people from the forests to the sea, to modern country and Americana music, there are songs that have always been deeply rooted in place.
This weekend will help you find the songs inside you, and grow as a person and a songwriter. Gain tools and practices and support to reflect on your life experiences and your passion for life, people, places and history, to create meaningful, memorable songs.
Instructors
Erica Wheeler
Erica Wheeler is an award-winning songwriter and the owner of Sense of Place Consulting. She is also a speaker, writing mentor and interpretive trainer for parks and historic sites, including extensive experience working with the National Park Service.
Originally attending college to become a wildlife field biologist, Erica went on to become a touring artist with songs deeply rooted in a sense of place. Yankee Magazine wrote "Her songs measure the cost of urban sprawl not in terms of species endangered, but in memories lost. Her lyrics evoke all the trails we've hiked, the streams swum, the trees climbed, and all the moments of growth enjoyed there--the silent epiphanies, the stolen kisses--without ever sounding preachy. But when she drops the truism "Your children won't know (the land) the way I did," suddenly your local zoning battle may seem a little more interesting."
Erica has taught songwriting at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Song School to the Swannanoa Gathering in NC. Erica has released 6 CDs, several of them on the Signature Sounds label. Her music has charted in the top ten on Billboard’s Gavin’s Americana Chart and she has been a featured interview on NPR’s All Things Considered. Voice of America and more. Her 2008 CD “Good Summer Rain” was sponsored in part by the Trust for Public Land, a national land conservation organization.
Erica also has years of experience leading creative writing workshops and retreats. Her Sense of Place and Story Framework centers around using a “sense of place” as the gateway to creativity, curiosity, belonging and identity, and can be used for all genera of writing.
Her work is dedicated to helping people find personal connections to places and themselves, helping both people and places thrive. Throughout her career she has inspired people to people find and craft the stories of place and belonging they have inside them. Erica is based in Colrain, MA, in the hills of western Massachusetts. For more information visit www.senseofplaceconsulting.com
Peggy Lynn
Peggy Lynn has been writing, recording, and performing songs for 35 years. Her songs are known for wry humor, bluesy style, ballads of strong women, and songs inspired by the Adirondack mountains. Peggy has written songs of science and nature for an Arts in Education elementary school program called BioSongs. Several of her songs were included in Visitors, a folk theater production of the history of the Adirondacks. Peggy co-authored a book about notable women titled, Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks. She is an avid hiker, paddler, and skier.
Great Camp Sagamore is Peggy’s favorite place to share music. She has been leading music at their intergenerational camps for 30 years. She led songwriting workshops for women with cancer and chronic illness at Sagamore’s Arts and Healing Retreats for 16 years. Peggy enjoys being on staff for Roots and Branches, which exposes young musicians to traditional music of the Adirondacks.
Schedule Overview
Thursday, July 6
Check in begins at 4pm for those that choose the three-night option. After dinner, we will settle in around the campfire for introductions and song sharing to kick-off the weekend.
Friday, July 7
After breakfast, take some time to explore the woods and waters around Sagamore, take a hike, practice a song or join one of our daily historic tours.
Check-in begins at 4pm for those that choose the 2-night option.
Formal instruction begins Friday evening after dinner. After introductions, Peggy and Erica will lead us in a presentation about the history of songs rooted in place, from traditional ballads to contemporary singer-songwriters.
Saturday, July 8
For the early birds, join us for a sunrise paddle on Sagamore Lake before breakfast. During the day, Erica and Peggy will be offering workshops on formulating a song, finding your story, localizing ballads and historical songs and more.
There will be free time on Saturday afternoon to relax or continue working on your own songs. Peggy and Erica will be available during this time to mentor and help shape your songs.
Saturday evening we will share the songs and stories that participants have been working on during the weekend.
Sunday, July 9
After breakfast, the instructors will be available to assist with song revisions along with a discussion about the craft of songwriting and the music business.
Checkout is at 10am.