KENOSEE LAKE - Last Thursday night, the Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party (KLKP) hosted an entertaining fundraising event.
Playing before a good crowd at the Red Market Barn, eight musicians including four fiddlers had the audience energized from start of finish.
Nearly 100 people were in attendance, with ages ranging from three to 83. The musicians played numerous waltzes and polkas and the dance floor was alive and vibrant.
The Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party is a music and art camp for all ages, genders and abilities. It is in the Moose Mountain Provincial Park and uses the camping facilities of the Kenosee Boys and Girls Camp.
Registration is now open for enrolment into their two August camps. Week 1 runs from Aug. 8-12, Week 2 from Aug. 15-19.
Attending the camps will be some of North America’s top musicians. They will be charging your musical batteries with intensive instruction designed to push your playing ability, regardless of where you are today, to new heights. Days of instruction are in friendly group settings, evenings offer fabulous concerts, and there is the ability to play with musicians of all ages.
KLKP has several talented performers coming this year, including Los Angeles-based composer and musician Ben Knorr, Métis fiddler and activist Tristen Durocher, and world-renowned blues ukulele performer and instructor Manitoba Hal. Also appearing will be Mairi Rankin, a Cape Breton fiddler from the musical Rankin Family.
Michele Amy is the director of programming for the KLKP.
“It is refreshing to be able to offer our annual camps after a two-year absence. Registration is picking up, but we still have spots available,” she said.
Michele and her husband Will Elliott, who reside in Forget, formed the KLKP 16 years ago. Other local board of directors include Cheryl Dubois of Langbank, and Donna Turk and Jacquie Walbaum, also from Forget.
New this year is the inception of a collaborative program which allows up to 20 children to access the high-quality music instruction available in each camp, supervised by the counsellors of the Boys and Girls Camp. Thanks to many private donors from across Canada, families can send their children to camp, instead of booking holidays to come as a unit.
KLKP has insisted on keeping pricing as low as possible. The camp’s host facility is maintaining its costs even with Canada’s current economic environment. Their mission is to do everything possible to avoid cancelling any instructor or turning away a young participant due to financial concerns.
Further information on how to register or provide financial assistance can be found on their website, www.kenoseekitchenparty.ca, their Facebook Page or by contacting Amy directly. Everyone is welcome to attend their concerts live right at camp, located on the west side of Kenosee Lake. They will also be posting their performances live on their Facebook Page.
Amy is looking forward to a great two weeks of camp this August.
“The Kitchen Party enjoys introducing people from all over the world to the treasures which are found in southeast Saskatchewan – the amazing people who volunteer to make KLKP happen, the kind-hearted hospitality, the incredible beauty of the skies, the landscape and the forests, and the talent which abounds in our little corner of the world.
“We also treasure being able to bring such high-quality musicians to our rural area and exposing our friends and neighbours to some of the best talent that Canada and North America have to offer.”
