The Champlain Valley Folk Festival in Burlington, VT is getting close (August 4-6).

Champlain Valley has been my favorite small festival for many years and I've done some of the MCing there for the past four. This year, I was also on the programming committee with Robert Resnik and Wally Macnow and we put a lot of emphasis on planning interesting workshops.

Here's the daytime workshop schedule (not including all the mainstage and daytime concerts and not including the dance stage). You can find those schedules on the Champlain Valley Folk Festival web site.

There are five stages, plus the dance stage, so some of these workshops are concurrent.

Saturday...

10:45-11:55, "Meetings with Remarkable Guitarists" with Andrew Hardin, Artie Traum, Guy Van Duser and Jeff Warschauer. Hosted by Artie Traum.

11:00-12:15, "Chorus Songs for Singing" with Margaret MacArthur, Lee Murdock and George Ward. Hosted by Margaret MacArthur. Participatory.

12:10-1:10, "A Life of Song" with Barbara Carns, Margaret MacArthur and Helen Schneyer. Hosted by Wally Macnow.

12:30-1:15, "The Barley Grain for Me" with Margaret Christl and Ian Robb.

12:30-1:30, "Pennywhistles from Heaven" with Peter Barnes, Billy Novick and George Ward. Hosted by Billy Novick. Participatory.

1:20-2:20, "Stringband Jam" with Double Decker Stringband and Reed Martin, Howie Bursen & Martin Grosswendt. Hosted by Howie Bursen.

1:45-2:45, "Lake and Canal Songs" with Lee Murdock and George Ward.

2:30-4:00, "Songwriters' Guitar Pull" with Steve Gillette, Anne Hills, Tom Russell and Jesse Winchester. Hosted by Mike Regenstreif.

2:35-3:50, "Blues Extravaganza" with Eric Bibb, Barbara Carns, Martin Grosswendt, Artie Traum and Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick. Hosted by Eric Bibb.

3:00-4:15, "Irish Session" with Sean Cleland, Jimmy Keane and Robbie O'Connell. Hosted by Robbie O'Connell. Participatory.

4:00-5:30, "Meetings with Remarkable Fiddlers" with Sean Cleland, Dan Schreyer, John Specker, Deborah Strauss, Pete Sutherland and Harvey Tolman. Hosted by Pete Sutherland.

4:30-5:30, "Quebecois Session" with Domino, Enterloupe and Tess LeBlanc. Hosted by Tess LeBlanc. Participatory.

Sunday...

9:30-11:45, "Sacred Harp," hosted by Shelly Posen.

10:45-noon, "Love is Mainly Just Memories" with Margaret Christl, Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, Robbie O'Connell and Jesse Winchester. Hosted by Mike Regenstreif.

10:45-noon, "Quebecois Extravaganza" with J.F. Berthiaume, Domino, Enterloupe and Tess LeBlanc.

11:00-12:15, "Banjo Jam" with Howie Bursen, Anne Downey and Reed Martin. Participatory.

11:45-12:30, "Songs of the Older and Cleveland Families" with Colleen Cleveland and George Ward. Hosted by Colleen Cleveland.

12:30-1:45, "Guitar Jam" with Howie Bursen, Martin Grosswendt and Artie Traum. Hosted by Artie Traum. Participatory.

1:15-2:15, "Daydreamers Bever Grow Old (family concert)" with Priscilla Herdman, Steve Gillette, Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen. Hosted by Anne Hills.

1:15-2:30, "Songs of Vermont and New York" with Colleen Cleveland, Margaret MacArthur, Pete & Karen Sutherland and George Ward. Hosted by Karen Sutherland.

2:00-3:15, "Squeezeboxes" with Martin Grosswendt, Sabin Jacques, Jimmy Keane and Ian Robb. Hosted by Robert Resnik.

2:00-2:45, "Piano Workshop" with Thomas Bartlett, Jacqueline Schwab and Tery Traub. Hosted by Jacqueline Schwab.

2:45-400, "Old World Music in the New World" with Robbie O'Connell, Sean Cleland & Jimmy Keane and Deborah Strauss & Jeff Warschauer. Hosted by Jeff Warschauer.