Electives
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1st Session July 5th – 10th – 2nd Session July 12th – 17th
Arts and Crafts: 
Put on your painting clothes and bring your imagination with you to this hands on project class. A variety of materials are provided guaranteed to excite the imagination and stimulate the creative mind. Any age student will be comfortable to attend this arts and crafts elective. Masterpieces are displayed at the final concert for all to enjoy!
Beginning Penny Whistle:
It’s always nice to find an instrument that is sophisticated enough to practice for a lifetime, small enough to put in your pocket, and at the same time very inexpensive! This class is for workshop participants who have never played the Penny Whistle. We will use a D whistle, available at local music stores and on line. Search Penny Whistles for Purchase! We usually have penny whistles available for purchase at our workshops too!
Chamber Music:
Chamber Music is offered to those who might like to spend time playing music by the great masters such as Mozart and Haydn. We’ll assign you to a trio or a quartet, or if you’ve already got a group, that’s good too!
Fiddle Music History:
Fiddle music has many different styles and sounds and is an important part of music culture in all parts of the world. In this class, the rich traditions of fiddle music will be explored in a listening history. See how the fiddle music from long ago and far away has traveled through time and across continents, evolving and influencing the sounds of music today.
Flutemaking:
The style of bamboo flute which Landon plays in yoga class is made and played by people in many cultures – South America (where it’s called the quena), India (bansuri), and, in a very sophisticated form, Japan (there it’s called shakuhachi, which translated literally means 1.9, feet – the length of the flute). In its simple form, it is an easy instrument to make, by drilling and burning holes along the length, then burning a notch for the mouthpiece.
Landon has made dozens of them, and has them for sale starting around $20.
In the flutemaking workshop, participants begin with a pre-cut length of bamboo, mark and drill the holes, burn the mouthpiece notch, then clean and finish the flute. The workshop ends with a fluteplaying lesson, during which most people actually manage to make a sound on the flute they just made! (It’s not as easy as it looks, but with practice you’ll get it). Whether or not you plan to become a master flute player, we’ll have a good time making them, learning about them and about bamboo, and you’ll have a wonderful memento of the workshop.
Playing and hearing the flute can be a very calming, meditative experience. And they tell me flutes are good Feng Shui hung over a doorway.
Singing: 
Nothing is required in this class except a happy heart! Bring along your favorite traditional songs and have fun sharing them in an elective singing group. You often notice there’s a lot of laughing between songs if you stand a few minutes outside the chapel in Blowing Rock while the singing electives are underway. By concert night, the class has developed it’s own style and there’s still a lot of laughing.
Laughing Meditation:
Some workshops include Laughing Meditation, a chance to join with other participants and laugh yourself silly in a safe, controlled, and meditative setting. We laugh together at nothing and everything, enjoying a great cosmic giggle for 10 to 15 minutes, and follow it with a period of reflection and quiet meditation, and then a brief discussion to share what we’ve experienced. It’s like being let in on a wonderful joke! We hope you’ll join us.
Origami:
Landon was taught to fold his first paper figure when he was ten by his grandmother. She called it a Swedish boat, and he folded it over and over again until, in college, he discovered the amazing world of origami, the traditional Japanese art of paperfolding. There it’s held in the same esteem as the more familiar arts of sculpture and painting, and for centuries, folded paper has had a major role in the ceremonial etiquette of Japanese life. 
In our class we’ll fold traditional figures like the crane, the frog and the tortoise, some modern figures as well, and the students will be encouraged to create their own models out of their imagination. If there’s time, each student can assemble the figures he or she has made into a mobile, which we’ll hang at the final concert. It’s a beautiful sight to see their creations floating happily in the air, and they become a terrific keepsake from the workshop.
Paperfolding requires patience and precision, and can be challenging for younger ones. It’s probably best for those over 9 years of age.
Plucked Instruments:
Many musicians are interested in trying their hand at a different instruments. Fiddle camp is the perfect atmosphere to develop your skills. Classes for beginning and intermediate guitar, mandolin, or banjo are scheduled most workshops. Students are encouraged to bring and play multiple instruments during mixed groups, electives, and at the evening jam sessions.
Yoga:
For people of all ages and abilities, the yoga classes at the workshop are based on the teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda, with whom Landon studied and was certified in 1998.
In class we stretch and flex, practice breathing, and rest in deep relaxation. The class is conducted as a meditation, its inward nature enhanced by the playing of Landon’s bamboo flute.
There is a wide variety of poses so each day will be a different class. If you have doubts about the impact of yoga on your body, please consult your caregiver before attending the sessions. 
The goal of yoga is not to stand on your head or become a pretzel, but to strengthen, energize and relax the body, quiet the mind, and breathe in the spirit. Swami Satchidananda says “If you want peace in the world, start with your own mind”.
You should wear clothing suitable for working out, stretchy and non-confining, not loose or baggy. Yoga is normally done barefoot, on an empty stomach.
If you have a yoga mat, please bring it. If you don’t have a mat, use a large towel or small blanket.
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April 13th, 2009 at 11:46 am
The program sounds amazing!! Are you able (time wise to take more then one elective?)
Thanks,
Ellie
April 17th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Hi Ellie!
Thank You! Every year since that first little camp, we continue to be amazed ourselves! The families we’ve met; the energy and outpouring of love they offer us and each other is truly inspiring.
We do try to customize schedules to accomodate each participant’s interests as much as we can, so we do a lot of scheduling and schedule adjusting during the camp. We promise one elective, but we can also be creative in scheduling time for participants to pursue multiple interests and get instruction on additional instruments. Let us know what you want to do and we’ll try to make it happen!