This season’s schedule follows in chronological order. Clicking on the session title will bring you to the session’s website for more information and registration.
Volunteer grounds work and clean up to open camp. Volunteers with a will to work are welcome; no special skills required! Housing & meals provided. Evening activities vary, initiated by those attending. Please register at least three days in advance and check with us before bringing children.
May 24 - May 27: Spring Work Weekend II – Memorial Day Weekend
Volunteer grounds work and clean up to open camp. Volunteers with a will to work are welcome; no special skills required! Housing & meals provided. Evening activities vary, initiated by those attending. Please register at least three days in advance and check with us before bringing children.
Jun 7 - Jun 9: Cape Breton Music and Dance Weekend
Join us for a weekend at Pinewoods to celebrate the music and dance traditions of our maritime neighbor to the north: Cape Breton! We are excited to present great teachers that will be announced in the future teaching Cape Breton fiddle, piano, pipes, whistles, square sets, and step dance.
This is a short-and-very-sweet session that is a perfect way to kick off your summer season of fun!
Exciting and affordable, Swing into Summer is an enlivening and relaxing weekend full of traditional dance, song, music-making, and other activities that people of every age/persuasion will enjoy. Our campers are young adults, families, and any age you can name. Swing into Summer is a great place to engage in your most beloved activities alongside trying something brand new. Jump with joyful dance moves one period and sing for the first time in years at the next. So, come for what you love; stay for something you didn’t even know you loved!
Committee members: Alex Ellis, Allison Shapp, Max Newman, Eleanor Lincoln and Ben Williams
International folk dance and music is an exhilarating gateway to experiencing and enjoying other cultures. Cultures featured by our world-class dance staff in daily classes included Turkish dances and the Cuban-based Rueda de Casino; music will be supplied for each evening’s three-hour dance parties by an amazing array of musicians. In addition to two daily dance classes geared to all campers, the sessions offer a daily “party prep” class covering classic international folk dances that are done at the evening parties, advanced dance classes, “Culture Corners”, singing, drumming, and instrumental workshops, and late night after-parties – and you’ll still have time for swimming, boating, and the simple pleasure of being at Pinewoods!
With a weekend session (June 20-24) geared toward adults and a FolkDays session (June 24-27) that adds age-appropriate classes and activities for children, or the option of staying for Both Sessions, there’s truly a place for everyone. See you there!
Weekend session: 6/20-24: Thursday afternoon to Monday morning
FolkDays session: 6/24-27: Monday morning to Thursday morning
Both sessions: 6/20-27: Thursday afternoon to Thursday morning
July 4th weekend at Pinewoods promises to be one of the best weekends of the year! We will have English Country Dance with the beautiful calling of Joanna Reiner Wilkinson and Brooke Friendly. Back by popular demand, we will have an English Ceilidh Dance with the talented Laurel Swift all the way from England! There will be Contra dance with the fantastic Quena Crain who is known for her cheerful presence, easy teaching style, and her enjoyably diverse repertoire of dances. Our music this year will come from the dynamic Karen Axelrod, Alex Cumming, Doug Creighton, and Eric Martin as well as the fantastic Contra-dance band Cloud 10, featuring Arthur Davis, Donal Sheets, and Cedar Stanistreet. This year, we are thrilled to have Judy Erickson back to teach Longsword! You can join the talented Laurel Swift for both English Clog and Morris – Laurel is an inspiring instigator of creative new projects and performances rooted in the folk arts and has choreographed national touring dance productions for Morris Offspring. We are thrilled to have Lily Leahy return to us from Ireland to lead Harmony Singing! Last, but certainly not least, Jamie Beaton and John Mayberry will lead porch singing and Laura Sprung will bring her crafty gifts to share!
Contact: Aidin Carey at 617-821-2137, or Amelia Mason at 339-224-0306,
ESC Week is growing! We’re now bringing you the best of English Country, Scottish Country, and Contra dancing—and much more. Come enjoy your favorite traditions while perhaps sampling something new in a fun and friendly session. From the energetic to the elegant, ESC offers a unique and satisfying mix of music and dance in daily classes and mixed evening programs. ESC is a rare opportunity to bring together dance communities in one magical setting—who knows what surprises you’ll find! So ESCape to the Cape this summer for the new English Scottish Contra ESCperience!
Contact: Meghan Murray at 781.775.9788, or Dan Blim at 734.883.6460,
Sponsored by: CDS Boston Centre, Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Scottish Country Dancing combines the grace and control of balletic footwork with the exuberance of Scots folk dancing into a social dance tradition that is simultaneously vigorous and elegant. Dancers dance in sets of four couples to reels, jigs, and strathspeys played on fiddle, piano, and pipes. Scottish Sessions at Pinewoods offer two of the best SCD programs in the country for beginners and advanced dancers alike, along with Highland dancing, step dancing, and music classes. The Scottish Sessions are also known for their outstanding teachers and musicians from both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
Pinewoods is the perfect setting in which to learn or perfect one of the most exhilarating forms of social dancing. Ceilidhs and after-parties for all are part of the Pinewoods Scottish experience. Join us for the weekend (Session I, July 5-8), the week (Session II, July 8-13), or both!
Contact: Laura DeCesare at 617-759-1089, or Ross Parker at 215-694-4511,
Sponsored by: Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Dance and music activities for the whole family. English country and ritual dances, and American squares and contras. Storytelling, singing, crafts. Some activities for the whole family, some by age group.
Traditional and contemporary songs, harmony singing by ear, choral singing from written music, instrumental music, as well as dance: American contra and square, English country and display. Lots of singing and instrumental music.
Contra, square, and clog dance classes along with some English country dance. Also calling workshops, singing and instrumental classes. Add some crafts and a great community.
Workshops, dances, concerts, one-shots, camper concerts, jamming, singing, swimming in two lovely ponds, relaxing, learning, and generally having fun. Beginning to advanced classes in banjo, concertina, dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, ukulele and other instruments, plus a variety of jams (old time, bluegrass, Quebecois, Celtic). American contras and squares for novice to experienced dancers, Quebecois dance, and evening dance parties for all. Daily warm-ups, singarounds, ballad singing, blues, spoken word, and a duckie flash mob swim.
Coordinators: Joy Bennett and Heather Wood
Saturday PM to Friday AM
Contact: Heather Wood at (646) 628-4604, or Joy Bennett at (917) 922-5404,
Sponsored by: Folk Music Society of New York and others
Co-sponsored by the Folk Arts Center of New England and the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre , Labor Day Weekend at Pinewoods offers an end of summer celebration of New England contras, English country, and international dancing, plus workshops in instrumental and vocal international dance music. The relaxed schedule also includes evening dance parties and after-parties, and various staff- and camper-led activities, all amid the lovely pine forests of Pinewoods Camp.
Program Directors:
Fri. p.m. to Tues. a.m.
Contact: Marcie Van Cleave at 781-438-4387,
Sponsored by: CDS Boston Centre, Folk Arts Center of New England