Author: Sola Grantham

  • Palo Alto Family Dance

    Saturday May 18         2:30-4:30pm

    We had so much fun gathering and dancing in Berkeley last month that we want to do it again, this time featuring some of our Peninsula and South Bay talent.

    505 East Charleston Rd Palo Alto CA 94306

    Join us for the Palo Alto Family Dance!

    Susan Petrick will lead us in family dance frolics, to the music of Valerie Rose (fiddle), Craig Johnson (piano and accordion) and Ben Saylor (Irish flute).

    During the break, enjoy a craft project with Lorraine Kostka, watch our camp “cranky” presentation, check out cool live instruments, and try your hand at juggling or stilting. Snacks provided.

    Dance is co-sponsored and located at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto. Admittance is free. Donations welcome to help cover costs.

    Please, share the word to families with small children!

  • Spread the Word!

    Post me!

    Do you have a local music or dance studio that has a community board? Are you attending a dance that has a flyer table? Is there a Waldorf or parent-participation preschool in your neighborhood?

    We are always looking for ways to reach families that would enjoy joining us in music, dance, arts, and laughter under the redwoods. Please feel free to print out the poster here and help us let people know about our camp.

  • Spring Family Dance

    Saturday, March 23     2:30-4:30pm

    Curious about what “Family Dance” is? Want to meet some of the campers and staff who regularly attend the summer Family Week?

    Christ Church, 2138 Cedar St, Berkeley

    Come on out to the spring Family Dance!

    Kelsey Hartman will lead us in family dance frolics, to the music of Anne Bingham Goess (fiddle), Craig Johnson (piano and accordion) and Paul Kostka (accordion and tin whistle).

    See rapper sword dance, check out cool live instruments, and try your hand at juggling at the break. Snacks provided.

    Please, share the word to families with small children!

  • Registration 2024 Open

    Sign up now!

    We are proud to announce that registration is open for BACDS Family Week 2024.

  • New Website

    Yay!

    Our website is getting an overhaul this year for better info and more recent pictures. If you have suggestions or feedback on what you find here, now is the perfect time to let us know by writing to familyweek@bacds.org so we can continue show folks about the special summer event that is BACDS Family Week.

  • Craig Johnson

    piano, accordion

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    Craig Johnson

    Craig Johnson has been to almost every Family Week, and has also played piano and accordion for dancers since 1982. He plays for community and Celtic dance at SF’s Dickens Fair, performs with the Dogwatch Nautical Band, and is a regular musician for San Francisco’s Cotswold and longsword teams, Goat Hill and Ring of Cold Steel.

  • Rhonda Cayford

    rapper sword dance

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    Rhonda Cayford

    Rhonda Cayford has been an avid contradancer for over 40 years, starting in Boston in 1978 and having the good fortune to move to San Francisco in 1980, just as the dance scene was taking off here. She discovered rapper at BACDS English Week in 1986 and it has been her passion ever since. She is the founder of a womens’ rapper team called Twisted Sisters, and was a long-time member of Swords of Gridlock. She has taught Rapper, Longsword, Cotswold, and Northwest Morris at camp. In 2022 and 2023, she held the role of camp programmer.