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Old Time Rollick 2026

Old Time Rollick 2026
Fri, May 29 - Sun, May 31



Emily Schaad hosts this rollicking weekend for musicians and dancers of all levels. Enjoy fiddle, banjo, guitar, singing classes and jam sessions, plus special one-off presentations, a staff concert, and a Saturday night square dance. Deepen your playing, build your repertoire, make new friends, and jam until the wee hours.

Instructors
Tricia Spencer & Howard Rains, fiddle/guitar
Gordy Hinners, banjo/dance
Will Mentor, square dancing and calling
Cesar Moreno, mandolin
Joseph DeJarnette, bass
Val Mindel, vocals
Jambassadors
Rebecca Keeter, guitar
A’yen Tran, guitar, singing
Tyler Dezago, fiddle, guitar, singing
Chelsea Needham, fiddle, singing
More about our instructors below…

 

Open to all folks, all ages, all orientations. Come join the OT Rollick family at Ashokan! Flexible pricing available. Scroll down for info on our “Pay it Forward” scholarships for gigging musicians and music teachers.

“The staff are amazing – so welcoming and accessible. The other musicians are also so supportive and friendly. It’s wonderful how quickly a sense of community is created.”

“Lovely people who clearly are committed to inclusion, great conversations, and safe space for creative risk.”

“Emily broke her tunes down so clearly!! loved it!”

“You’ll never know how much this weekend meant musically and socially. Thank you!”

Click here to view last year’s class schedule.

Click here to see photos from previous years.

Pricing

Supporter ($515.00)
Includes a donation toward Ashokan’s programs & scholarships. Thank you for your Support!

Standard ($415.00)
Not sure which to choose? Please choose this ticket.

Economy ($315.00)
Need financial assistance? Choose this ticket.

Youth (ages 5-25) ($215.00)
Youth attendees select this ticket option!

Under 5 ($0.00)
Children under 5 attend for free!


See if you qualify for our
PAY-IT-FORWARD scholarship

Lodging Options
Staying Off-site | $0.00
Live nearby or commuting to and from Ashokan from a hotel, Air BnB, or friend's house?
Camping | $0.00
Camping areas include rec field (with bathhouse) upper pasture, and more. BYO camping gear. No open fires.
Sharing a Private Room purchased by someone else | $0.00
Ashokan doesn't assign roommates or split room costs at our end, but you're encouraged to coordinate sharing any private room.
Bunk in Men's Longhouse | $100.00
Twin-sized bunk in large shared room with large shared bathroom. Maximum capacity 24 people in 12 bunkbeds. BYO bedding, towels, toiletries
Bunk in Women's Longhouse | $100.00
Twin-sized bunk in large shared room with large shared bathroom. Maximum capacity 24 people in 12 bunkbeds. BYO bedding, towels, toiletries
Bunk in All Gender | $100.00
Twin-sized bunk in large shared room with large shared bathroom. Maximum capacity 24 people in 12 bunkbeds. BYO bedding, towels, toiletries
Raspberry Private Cabin | $300.00
Small private cabin with two twin beds, sleeps up to 2 people. Shared bathrooms nearby.
Strawberry Private Cabin | $300.00
Small private cabin with one queen bed, sleeps up to 2 people. Shared bathrooms nearby.

**See Additional Info**



CAMP WAITLIST & PRIVATE LODGING WAITLIST (This option is for you if the blue "Click to register button" is disabled or your preferred lodging choice is greyed out in the form.)

TRICIA SPENCER

Tricia Spencer is a Kansas fiddler who grew up on her family’s farm learning the tradition of old-time fiddling knee to knee from her grandpa, Vernon Spencer. Tricia is known for her unique approach to seconding on the fiddle and is a multi-instrumentalist, teacher, artist, composer, and author of the book, “the Fiddle Garden."
HOWARD RAINS

Howard Rains is an artist, fiddler, and multiinstrumentalist from Texas, now living in Kansas, who comes from a family rich in music and art. Howard plays rare, old tunes learned from friends, family, mentors, and old recordings. As much known for his painting as his fiddling, Howard paints mostly in watercolor, works in collage, and is also the lead artist and graphic designer for Tiki Parlour Recordings in Los Angeles.
GORDY HINNERS

Gordy Hinners, known for his driving fretless banjo style and his masterful, rhythmic flatfooting, has been performing Appalachian music and dance for over 50 years. He spent many years touring with the well-known, influential dance company, the Green Grass Cloggers, and over 20 years with the New Southern Ramblers with fiddler Ralph Blizard. Gordy has taught banjo and flatfoot dance at many workshops around the world, including the first Southern Week camp held at Ashokan in 1980.
WILL MENTOR

Will Mentor is a contra and square dance caller from northern Vermont known for his clear teaching, upbeat wit, and relaxed stage presence. He loves to choreograph evenings with a variety of dances and tempos that at times surprise and always delight. All the while, keeping intact his guiding principle as a caller: "It's about the dancers!"
CESAR MORENO

Cesar Moreno is an established bluegrass musician in the NYC bluegrass scene. Cesar is proficient in mandolin, guitar, clawhammer banjo, and singing. He has played in Bluegrass festivals from Vermont to California and across the ocean in Portugal and France. Cesar Moreno is one of the finest tenor singers in bluegrass music, and plays everything from classic bluegrass mandolin to Dawg music and jazz with ease.
VAL MINDEL

Val Mindel is a longtime musician, teacher and workshop leader, known for helping singers achieve the sound they want and have fun doing it. She teaches a wide range of harmony styles from the buzzy sound of American old-time and early country harmony to the weaving harmonies of songs from across the ocean. In the process she addresses such indefinables as tone, ornamentation and lead singing. In addition to being on staff at the Old Time Rollick several times since its beginning, she also teaches at other Ashokan Music and Dance Camps as well as the Augusta Heritage Center, Centrum’s Voice Works, Pinewoods, Targhee Music Camp, Sore Fingers in England and SongRoots in Canada. She is a founding member of the California-based Any Old Time string band and has two CDs with daughter and old-time country musician Emily Miller. Val is also the author of So You Want to Sing Folk Music, and has cowritten with Dr. Kathy Bullock a chapter on traditional singing for the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Voice Pedagogy, due out in 2026. She lives in Elkins, West Virginia.
JOSEPH DEJARNETTE

Musician and audio engineer Joseph “joebass” DeJarnette was raised in the rural foothills of the blue ridge mountains on a hodgepodge of strange 78 rpm records. He later spent many years living in Brooklyn, NY touring the world with vaudevillian ragtime jugband blues and hillbilly swing band The WIYOS and making occasional appearances with Curtis Eller, New York’s angriest yodeling acrobatic banjo player. After an unpleasant stadium tour, he founded STudio808A in historic Floyd, Virginia, a “band and breakfast” recording studio where he has made hundreds of stringband records. He is a regular at fiddle camps and festivals and has coordinated the oldtime music camps at the Augusta Heritage Center, and the Handmade Music school.
CHELSEA NEEDHAM | jambassador

Chelsea is an internationally experienced performer and teaching artist who uses traditional music, rhythm, and movement to foster cross-cultural understanding. She is the Director of the Strawberry Hill Fiddlers, and Music Director for the Vanaver Caravan where she mentors young musicians, leads ensembles, and designs engaging educational programs rooted in tradition and creativity.
A’YEN TRAN | jambassador

A'yen Tran is a guitarist, vocalist and lover of the old-time string band music. She sings and plays guitar in the group Ginny’s Kitchen. A’yen finds inspiration in the vibrant tradition of women in American string band and traditional music. Alice Gerrard, Hazel Dickens, The Coon Creek Girls, Ginny Hawker, and Val Mindel are among her greatest inspirations.

A’yen was raised in New York where she grew into an artist and community organizer. She spent years building boats with the artist Swoon and brought singers together on her ‘Boat for Singing Together’ project in New York City. Her background in activism and intersectional feminism permeate her mission in the old time community: to honor the roots of old time music while helping the community become more inclusive. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Jalopy Theatre in NY and the Youth Traditional Song Weekend board.
TYLER DEZAGO | jambassador

Tyler Dezago is a fiddler, guitarist, music educator and songwriter rooted in American Traditional Music. As a songwriter, Tyler’s brings new repertoire to the genre, continuing the tradition of sharing stories centered around place, people, and the adversities they faced. Tyler teaches fiddle, guitar, and clawhammer banjo by ear in person in the Hudson Valley and online.
REBECCA KEETER | jambassador

Dancer, dance instructor, and old-time musician Rebecca Keeter has travelled the world studying and participating in folk dances, and she is an expert on southern Appalachian flatfoot, clogging, and group dancing styles. Rebecca will be joining us as a jambassador for the weekend.
JAY UNGAR & MOLLY MASON | special guests

Jay & Molly are masters of music and storytelling who generously share their lives and their music with Ashokan campers and audiences.

Jay’s fiddling is brimming with playfulness, drama, soulfulness and technical verve, as he explores the many musical styles and idioms that he has internalized and made his own. Molly’s total mastery and inventiveness on piano and guitar is always spot-on, as she supports the tunes and follows the flow of the melody. Her rich and expressive vocals along with the resonant strains of Jay’s violin, reveal the deep emotions that flow in the duos veins.
EMILY SCHAAD | camp coordinator

Emily Schaad is known for a complex and powerful fiddling style, and has taken first place in numerous stringband and fiddle contests, including the Appalachian Stringband Music Festival in Clifftop, WV. Emily came to the music of the southern Appalachians as a classical violist, teacher, and conductor, and once the archaic and driving sound of the fiddle and banjo found her, she never looked back.

Additional Info:

Payment/Cancellation/Refund Policy

You may pay in full or hold your place with a deposit of 25% per person if registering 4 or more weeks before camp. Full payment is due 4 weeks before camp begins. To cancel your camp registration, email events@ashokancenter.org

• We retain $50 per person for cancellations requested until 4 weeks before camp begins, and for COVID-related cancellations made at any date.

• We retain your 25% deposit between 4 and until 2 weeks before camp.

• We retain the full registration amount within 2 weeks of camp.

Schedule Overview

FRIDAY

3-5pm: CAMPER ARRIVAL & CHECK-IN
5pm: WELCOME GATHERING
6pm: DINNER
7pm: SLOW JAM & OT DANCE PARTY
8pm: STAFF CONCERT
9:30pm: OPEN JAM

SATURDAY

8:30-9:30am: BREAKFAST
9:30-12:30pm: CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
12:30-1:30pm: LUNCH
2-5pm: CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
5-6pm: OPEN MIC
6pm: DINNER
7:30-9:39pm: SQUARE DANCE
10pm: SNACK & INFORMAL JAMMING

SUNDAY

8:30-9:30am: BREAKFAST
9:30am: CLASSES
12:30pm: LUNCH
1-2pm: OPEN JAM

Pricing & What's Included!

You may choose to pay up front or pay a deposit and balance. Balance payment is due 4 weeks before the event.

Registration includes all activities and meals. Lodging is optional and camping is free.

Children under 5 attend for free (under 3 for Family Camp). Campers under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Food & Drink

All meals are included. You may indicate your dietary restrictions when registering. We make every effort to include a range of allergen-free dishes and to inform diners of meal ingredients.

The Ashokan Center is licensed to serve beer and wine in Esopus Lodge (the main building). The bar is generally open from late afternoon to early evening. Sorry, by law, guests are prohibited from bringing their own alcoholic beverages into this licensed building.

Lodging

LONGHOUSE BUNKS: Rooms hold up to 24 people and are designated women, men, or all gender. Place your belongings on a top or bottom bunk after you check in to claim it. Pillows are available, please bring your own blankets, sheets, pillowcases, and towels. There are a small number of light blankets for those bunkhouse residents who are unable to bring one of their own. If you will need us to provide one, please let us know well in advance.

PRIVATE ROOMS: There are a limited number of private rooms that must be reserved in advance at extra charge. Pillows are available, please bring your own sheets, pillowcases, and towelsThere are light quilts in each private room.

CAMPSITES: Camping is available with access to bathrooms and outdoor showers. Please park by your campsite only if you plan to leave your car in place for the duration of the camp.

What To Bring

If you’re lodging with us please remember to bring a blanket and linens (or sleeping bag), towel, toiletries, soap, flashlight, earplugs (for light sleepers). There are light quilts in each private room and we have a small number of light blankets for bunkhouse residents who can’t bring one of their own. Let us know well in advance if you’ll need one.

Flashlight, recording device, camera (or maybe those are all your phone!)

Comfortable informal clothing for wet and dry weather. Some may also bring dressy, wild or fun clothing as well but that is up to you! There’s no laundry on site so bring enough clothes for the camp.

What Not To Bring
Please, no pets or drop-in guests.
Mail/Phone/WiFi

Incoming mail

Your Name c/o Ashokan Music & Dance 477 Beaverkill Rd, Olivebridge, NY 12461

Outgoing mail leaves each weekday at 4pm.

Music & Dance Camp Phone (845) 657-8333 x 3

Cell phone reception is available but spotty. Calls may be dropped but texts are reliably received.

High speed Wi-Fi is available in all buildings.

Directions & Transportation

Physical Address: Ashokan Center, 477 Beaverkill Rd, Olivebridge, NY 12461

DRIVING DIRECTIONS   Take NY State Thruway (1-87) to Kingston exit #19. From traffic circle take Route 28 West (toward Pine Hill). In 12 miles (shortly after Mobil & Citgo) turn left onto Reservoir Rd. Cross the Ashokan Reservoir, turn left at the Tee. Head down the hill, pass the first left (Rt 28A East) and merge onto 28A West. Take next left onto Beaverkill Rd. Follow Beaverkill for about one mile, then turn right into the Ashokan Center driveway and follow the signs.

AIRPORT  Albany, NY (ALB) is the closest major airport (about 1.5 hours away). Public transportation is available from the airport to the Kingston bus station, where you can take a taxi to Ashokan. Or contact us at least one month before your program begins for a list of people driving from the Albany area who may be able to give you a ride.

Covid Safety Policy

We remain committed to the well-being of our guests, staff, and broader community. As public health guidance continues to evolve, common respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 influenza (flu) and RSV are managed similarly.

The Ashokan Center’s policy reflects current CDC and New York State Department of Health guidance and emphasizes personal responsibility, symptom-based decision-making, and community care.

We maintain hand sanitizer stations, promote handwashing, and prioritize good ventilation and clean shared spaces.If you are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness—including fever (>100), cough, sore throat, and fatigue—you should go home and not participate in group activities.

We continue to monitor public health guidance and will revise this policy as needed.

Refund policy: If you cancel or shorten your stay due to respiratory illness you will be eligible for a prorated refund. We appreciate your cooperation in staying home when ill.

Additional FAQ's

The Ashokan Center builds community through shared experiences in nature, history, music and art. We have hosted traditional Music & Dance Camps at our 385 acre nature preserve for over 40 years. In 2020 we learned how to host them online and in 2021 we began to reimagine how to gather in person once again.

Come join the Ashokan family to celebrate, learn, connect, deepen your music, make new friends, and brighten your day. Our events are open to all folks, all ages and all orientations.

M&D Need-Based “Pay it Forward” SCHOLARSHIPS We are holding 5 deeply discounted spots (includes tuition, meals & bunk) to provide a learning opportunity to gigging musicians and music, vocal, and dance teachers who will be sharing out their newly learned skills with a wider community. We prioritize new applicants each year and notify all applicants within 1 month before camp begins.

NEED HELP?

EMAIL: events@ashokancenter.org
CALL 845-657-8333 x3

Click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions about camp!

Thank you to the Martin Guitar Charitable Foundation for supporting Ashokan Music & Dance Camps.