Family Week at Agassiz Village

This Living Tradition

Once is a novelty, twice is a coincidence, third time is a tradition! It’s our third year of the Family Week community making Agassiz feel like home away from home, and we’re inviting you to come dance, sing, and play in the woods of Maine.

Kids and adults take separate classes in the morning, focusing on age-appropriate skill development and bonding with peers. Afternoons are all-comers sessions, where we build community and intergenerational connection. And all-camp gatherings are a chance for campers and staff to perform music, tell jokes and stories, and highlight what they’ve learned and built during camp. 

In addition to music, ECD, Morris, singing, Contra, Balfolk, Longsword, waltz, stories, Mummers play, and crafts; you’ll also have a chance to swim, hike, nap, jam, socialize, and after-party. We dance together as a community, then sing sequential waves of children off to bed, giving adults a chance to dance while monitors keep track of the dreamers. 

Come recharge, reconnect, relax, and renew as we gather together to share joy and reinvigorate traditions and invent new ones. We’d love to see you there! 

-Sophia & Luke Donforth, Program Directors

Arrival & Departure

Sunday Arrival Schedule:

Saturday Departure Schedule: 

Draft Daily Schedule

Period 1

Ages 2-3: Singing Games with Sophia Donforth

We’ll sing, play and move our bodies to great songs and make loads of animal noises.  Elephant? Lion? Dolphin? Come stomp and splash around with us.

Ages 4-5: Art with Sarah Hirsch

Express yourself visually! We’ll make creative arts projects, individually and together, using several different media over the week.

Ages 6-7: Song & Dance with Lily Leahy

Description coming soon!

Ages 8-9: Music with Matthew Olwell

Description coming soon!

Ages 10-12: Social Dance with Luke Donforth

Description coming soon!

Ages 13 & up: English Country Dance with Sue Rosen

We’ll explore the wide range of wonderful and accessible English country dances from the traditional barn dance to the treasured Playford repertoire and the more recent gems from both sides of the pond. With glorious music, we’ll have fun and dance beautifully.

Ages 13 & up: Morris Dance with Peter Kruskal

Learn, perfect or play with the hanky and the stick at this morris class for all skill levels. Come with some comfortable sneakers and ready for some moderate athletic exertion. It’s a great way to wake yourself up in the morning! We will learn some traditional dances but will also explore some with dance creation and choreography, particularly for any experienced dancers who come. 

Period 2

Ages 2-3: Art with Sarah Hirsch

Get those little hands going! We’ll use a variety of art materials and approachable methods to make some fun, colorful crafts — most likely wearable. Visual art is a wonderful complement for grounding after all the body jumping and swirling, and we’ll make some beautiful things together. 

Ages 4-5: Seriously Silly Song & Dance with Sophia Donforth

We’ll be getting up to some really foolish stuff in this class while we learn about opposites and patterns as we sing and dance our way through the goofiest of songs.

Ages 6-7: Craft & Art with Sarah Nicholson

Come and explore the fun of paper folding and collage!

Ages 8-9: Longsword with Peter Kruskal

Longsword dancing is a rich and varied tradition celebrated in cultures throughout Europe. The “Swords” are blunt long wooden props held at either end by dancers to form a connected ring. Dancers then weave these swords into patterns and displays to music. Please bring sneakers.

Ages 10-12: Morris Dancing with Dan Koppock

We’ll be getting up to some capers, dancing a cotswold hankie dance or two. Strap your bells on!

Ages 13 & up: Contra for All with Luke Donforth

Description coming soon!

Ages 13 & up: Harmony Singing with Lily Leahy

Description coming soon!

Period 3

Ages 8 & up (younger, if passionate, with an adult): Community Art with Sarah Nicholson

Create for the sake of joy! Come and play with a variety of materials and discover where your creative process will lead you. Paper, paints and other inspirations will be provided for making paper beads, prayer flags,  small books, collages, or creations of your choice.

Musical One-Shots

Explore a different offering led by program staff every day.

Rhythmic Dance with Matthew Olwell

Description Coming Soon!

Singing with Helen Kuhar

Description coming soon!

Period 4

Ages 8 & up (younger, if passionate, with an adult): Family Band with Bruce Rosen and Cedar Stanistreet

Whatever your instrument (fiddle, kazoo, a homemade invention?),  whatever your level, bring yourself and an instrument along and let’s play music together! From simple, fun and familiar tunes, to special requests and some obligatory bangers, this is a slow and steady session led by our fabulous camp staff for everyone to join in with. Bring dots if you need them, otherwise expect to play by ear and we’ll give pointers about how to join in before each tune! Children under 12 should be accompanied by parent (or come and chat to us in advance)

Object Manipulation with Roger “the Jester” Reed

Controlled throwing and passing of objects. Always wanted to juggle? Success guaranteed!

Camper-led Activities

Period 5

Ages 8 & up (younger, if passionate, with an adult) Dance Sampler with Dave Wiesler, Rachel Bell & Susan Kevra

Susan, Dave, and Rachel will play a variety of waltzes, couple dances, and bal folk dances for you to enjoy. Dance instruction will be available.

On bal folk days, come learn the basics or practice the skills you’ve already been building! Bal folk encompasses a big variety of French and European dances, ranging from meditative to energetic, with formations in lines, circles, spirals, and pairs.

Mummers Play with Paddy Swanson

Life, death, rebirth, terrible jokes, awful acting, simple songs, massive enthusiasm and no pay. An annual treat for old and young. No experience or talent required.

Ages 13-17: Teen Class

Description coming soon!

Camp fees cover all accommodation, meals from dinner on the arrival day to breakfast on the departure day, and all of the various dance, music, and song events in the program. 

This year, all of our weeks have sliding scale pricing for adults to help make camp financially accessible to more people. The fee you choose will not affect your chance of getting into camp.

How it works:

• The standard camper fee covers program staff pay and travel costs, facility fees, and all of the other costs associated with running this camp week.
• The higher price options allow you to add an additional amount to your registration fee to help make camp more accessible to more people. Thanks for supporting this community!
• If the standard camper fee doesn’t work for you, no worries! Feel free to choose one of the lower price options.
• If the lower price tiers still leave camp out of reach for you, we encourage you to apply for a scholarship and/or work exchange. See our Scholarships page for more details

Sliding Scale Adult Fees

Fees for kids

You can find more information about the registration process here.