Info for Attendees
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When, What, Where, and HowCheck in time is 12 noon with early bird jams happening right away.
If you arrive in the area before noon, you might consider doing a little local sightseeing (nearby Port Townsend is quaint and scenic, but for that matter, the whole area is quaint and scenic) or you might want to visit a local store and pick up a sandwich for lunch and any items from the list below that you forgot to bring.
If you need to arrive after 2:30 please let us know so we don't worry about you. (Click HERE for our site coordinator contact information.)
You should plan to arrive as close to noon as possible to give yourself a chance to settle into your bunk, check out the ocean, and play a tune or two before all the classes begin. The first bunch of classes are Friday at 2:30 (Click HERE to see information about the schedule.)
Dinner on Friday is the first meal of the weekend,
(so bring something for lunch).
Lunch on Sunday is the last meal of the weekend.
When you arrive, please check in with the site coordinator.
Please label everything!
Essential items:
+ Bedding - sleeping bag or sheets and blankets, pillow
+ Towel
+ Toiletries, personal items (medicine, etc.)
+ Clothes for hot weather as well as cold or rainy weather.
mid-50s to high-60s are normal for this area
and breezes from the ocean can be cold.
+ Flashlight
+ Banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass,... whatever instruments you might play
+ Capo, finger picks, flatpicks, instrument strap, bow, rosin, spare strings...
whatever you need for your instrument.
+ A rested body ready for a lot of learning and late night jamming.
Recommended items:
+ Gig bag with backpack straps for hauling that multi-pound banjo around.
+ Tape recorder, mini disc recorder, or iPod-equivalent.
+ Paper, pencil
+ Money for all those CD's you'll want to buy after hearing the staff
members in concert
+ A large sheet (king- or queen-size is best) to hang on the curtain bar
between your bedroom and the outer corridor for privacy.
+ A mattress pad or extra blanket to put under your sheets (the mattresses are
plastic-covered)
+ Ear plugs for sleeping
or water for you).
+ Unique marking on your instrument case(s). A piece of duct tape bearing
your name can make your case easy to spot among others.
Optional items:
+ Camera (we'd love to see your photos!)
+ Music books
+ Camp stool or light-weight armless chair to drag around for outside jams.
+ A seat cushion for the hard benches and chairs.
+ A large cup or mug, (unless little 7-oz cups will hold enough coffee, tea,
+ Munchies for late-night and between-meals snacking
+ Cell phone (it's marginal, but Singular and Verizon seem to work best so far)
Leave Home:
+ Pets. Washington State Parks have a No Pets policy.
+ Electric instruments and amps. Banjos are loud enough!
Call or send email if you are from out of town and can’t bring something. (Click HERE for our site coordinator contact information.)
The camp takes place on the grounds of Fort Flagler State Park in an area known as "Camp Hoskins." Fort Flagler is located eight miles northeast of Hadlock (Port Hadlock), WA, on the northern tip of Marrowstone Island. The adjacent town name (useful for online map services) is Nordland, WA. (Click HERE to see the area on maps.) Note that the "route" links below should give a complete map and turn-by-turn directions for each route, but they may take somewhat different paths from those provided as text... Caveat emptor! Click HERE to see an aerial map showing the path from the Park entrance to the A.B.C. registration area, or HERE to see a schematic map of the same route.
Getting there from Seattle or Edmonds:
Take Kingston Ferry or Bainbridge Island Ferry, and follow signs to Hood Canal
Bridge. Cross the bridge (going West on Hwy.104) and drive ~6 miles,
then turn right (North) onto Hwy.19 (Beaver Valley Rd.). Travel ~9 miles to
the four-way stop in Chimacum.
Take a right on Chimacum-Center Rd. and go ~1.6 miles to the four-way stop
in Port Hadlock. Turn right onto Hwy.116 (Flagler/Oak Bay Rd) and follow Hwy.116
for ~10 miles (it turns sharp left after ~3.7 miles).
Fort Flagler is at end of Hwy.116.
Click HERE
for the Maps On Us Route.
Getting there from Olympia, Portland, and points south:
Drive north on I-5 to Olympia. Turn left onto Hwy.101 West. Go 80 miles and
bear right onto Hwy.20 North. Go ~3.7 miles and turn right onto Anderson Lake
Rd. Go ~2.7 miles and turn left onto Hwy.19 (Rhody Dr) North. Go ~0.5 miles
and turn right onto Hwy.116 (Ness Corner Rd) and follow that road to the end
and into the park.
Click HERE
for the Maps On Us Route.
Getting there from Mt. Vernon, Bellingham, Vancouver, BC, and points North:
Take I-5 South to Hwy.20 (in the Mt. Vernon/Chuckanut Drive area).
Take Hwy.20 west to Whidbey Island and follow it south to the Keystone Ferry.
Take the Keystone ferry (1/2 hour crossing time) to Port Townsend and then
follow the Port Townsend directions.
Click HERE
for the Maps On Us Route.
or HERE
for a Map of the Keystone/Port Townsend Ferry area..
Getting there from Port Townsend:
Drive south out of town on Sims Way and continue south on Hwy 20 for
approximately 2.5 miles to the stop light. Continue straight onto Hwy 19.
Travel 3 miles to Ness' Corner Road and turn left. At the four way stop
in Port Hadlock, continue straight onto Oak Bay Road. After approximately 1
mile, turn left onto State Route 116. Follow the route to the end of the road
and directly into the park.
[Insert link to MapsOnUs route]
Click HERE
for the Maps On Us Route.
Getting there from far away:
Take an airplane to the Seattle-Tacoma airport (SEA) and get in touch with our
site coordinator to coordinate carpooling from the airport.
Getting there from SeaTac Airport:
Take International Blvd (Hwy 99) south to I-5 south for just under 20 miles
and turn right (West) onto Hwy 16. Go 30 miles and turn East onto Hwy 3.
Go 27 miles and turn left onto Hwy 104 acros the Hood Canal Bridge.
Cross over the bridge and drive 5 miles, then turn right onto Hwy. 19.
Travel 10 miles to the Chimacum four-way stop. Take a right on Chimacum-Center
Rd. At four-way stop in Port Hadlock, turn right onto Oak Bay Rd.
Go approximately 1 mile and turn left onto SR 116. Fort Flagler is at end
of the road, approximately 10 miles total from the Oak Bay Rd.
[Insert link to MapsOnUs route]
Click HERE
for the Maps On Us Route.
Carpooling:
We are looking for folks willing to pick up students and instructors
flying in from all parts of the globe. If you are able to pick up someone
from the airport (or from a drop-off place on the way to camp) please let
our site coordinator know ASAP. If you are in need of a ride to camp please
let us know ASAP and please include your itinerary. THANKS!
There is an emergency-only phone at camp that is answered only during park hours, 8:30 am to about 5 pm. The number is 360-385-3701. You can also try our cell phones (360-961-1860 Janet, 781-316-5564 Ken, 206-963-2634 Peter) but reception at the site is iffy. The closest pay phone is 10-15 minutes away in Nordland.
The Class ScheduleThe schedule of classes, demonstrations, jams, concerts, and meals is the heartbeat of the American Banjo Camp. You may want to look at the latest schedules linked to the ABC main page as you read the descriptions below.
Following in the traditions of the Tennessee Banjo Institute and the Maryland Banjo Academy, our camp offers highly specialized classes taught by experts in the field. Each day is divided up into anywhere from two to five sessions, and most sessions offer both our bluegrass and old time enthusiasts at least three distinct choices. During each session, just select the class whose subject matter seems most appealing, or the one that seems most appropriate to your playing level.
Sometimes you may look at our schedule and wish you could be three places at once. This is quite normal, and not grounds for alarm. In fact, we feel we would not be doing our job as programmers if you didn't want to be at least two places at once. The first time this happens to you, just follow your instincts and make your selection (you can't go wrong, all the choices are good!). The next time you feel torn, try to select a class offered by a different teacher, the time after that by a third teacher, to get a feel for each teacher's unique strengths, insights, and approaches.
The novice program is designed primarily for true beginners --banjoists who have been playing less than six to nine months. If you've been playing longer than that, we recommend diving into the regular program. Even if it feels a little over your head, you'll still be taking home precious directives and mental images that will guide your growth on banjo for years to come. Having said that, there probably are a few classes we're running in the novice track that might be of genuine interest to the intermediate player, so do at least check what's going on in that column through the weekend.
Our intermediate "track" is for students who are beyond the novice stage but not yet up to some of the more specialized courses on the schedule. Just about all our instructors will teach at least one class in the intermediate program.
Most of our classes are "hands-on," meaning that teachers have a set of skills or a tune or two in mind to impart, and that students should have their banjos in hand during class. On the other end of the spectrum are the few sessions labeled "demo." Demos, are presentations or mini performances combined with explication and Q&A sessions (students will probably not have banjos in hand for demo classes). Somewhere in between are those classes labeled "demo-instructional." Where they fall precisely in the continuum is up to the discretion of the individual teacher, but do have your banjos available.
This may be a 5-string banjo camp, but we do also offer workshops in topics like backup guitar, fiddle, and banjo-uke. These classes are listed in the Special Events column of your schedule. Also in that column are listed special jams and jamming workshops conducted by our great staff of accompanists.
We've provided several opportunities for jamming with different amounts of
"supervision" ranging from jam classes to specific level jams to normal,
do-it-yourself jams.
Here's how the more supervised
jamming choices for both bluegrass and old-time players shape up:
+ jam workshop -- for those who can play pretty well but don't have much (or any)
experience playing with others.
+ slow jam -- this one is really, really, slow and aimed mostly at novices.
+ jams led by pairs of instructors. These intermediate jams will be more
advanced than the "jam workshop" jams, but not "up-to-speed."
Specifically, for this year (2007), on Friday there will be a jam period with the supervised jams described above taking place right after the faculty concert. That will be followed by a snack and then an unstructured jam period going as late as people want. This is when up-to-speed, no-holds-barred jams will take place in each genre. Join in if you can, or come and watch. If you've never witnessed a full-fledged old-time or bluegrass jam session before, it's a pretty special thing, for sure! This is also a good time to practice things you learned in class, or get together with other people at your level and have your own jam.
On Saturday there will be jam workshops as well as three jamming sessions. The jam workshops are scheduled for the morning, the supervised jams are scheduled before dinner, and two unstructured jam times are scheduled after the faculty concert. A snack separates the two jams, but you don't have to stop for the snack if things are really rolling!
Artist CDs and Instructional MaterialsNo doubt you'll want to take home lots of CDs, books, and videos by your favorite banjoists. We'll have a camp store set up to help you fulfill this aim. The store should be open during meal times and during some other non-class times. The store will be able to take cash or checks, but won't be able to sell artist merchandise via credit card.
Site CoordinatorTo arrange to give or get a ride, to make other travel arrangements, or to ask any questions about on-site operations, contact our on-site coordinator:
Janet Peterson
360-647-0741
motherlodemusic@earthlink.net (quickest)
janet@AmericanBanjoCamp.com (also works)
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