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Recent Posts

Our Year in Review: 2023
Spring 2023 Letter to the Community
Our Year in Review: 2022
Craig Kurumada Changes Gears
Recenter. Regather. Renew.
2022 Workshops – Our Decision To Cancel
East Coast Virtual Camp 2021 Teacher Highlights
Our Year in Review: 2021
Our Year in Review: 2020
Fall 2020 Letter to the Community
Mid-Year Report: 2020
Our Year in Review: 2019
FY2019 Financials – Income & Expense charts
Meet Our Newest Board Member
Membership FAQs
Strategic Vision 2019
Camp Cabins Are Not Just Where We Sleep
Tips for Scholarship Applicants
Meet Our Newest Board Members
The Final Survey
FY2018 Financials – Income & Expense charts
Our Year in Review: 2018
Special Thanks: 2018
Summary: Spring 2018 Board Meeting
Tips & Tricks: Financing Your Trip to Balkan Camp
Growing Live Music
Volunteer Spotlight: Camille Holmes
FY2017 Financials – Income & Expenses
Post Balkan Camp Disorder (PBCD)
Running Sound at Balkan Camp: Tips and Tricks
Jamming at Camp – Your Opinions Wanted!
EEFC 2017 Spring Board Meeting Message from the President
FY2016 Financials – Income & Expenses
Spread the Word
EEFC 2016 Fall Board Meeting Report
Macedonian Čalgija Musicians at Mendocino
Get the Official Registration Badge
Social Media 101: Youth to the Rescue or How to Promote the EEFC on Facebook
A Good Year for Giving!
FY2015 Financials – Income & Expenses
Just What Does the EEFC Board Do?
Supporting the Čoček Nation Youth Scholarship
FY2014 Financials – Income & Expenses
Fall 2015 Board Meeting Summary Letter
EEFC 2015 Fall Board Meeting Report
A Few Changes to Membership
2015-2016 Fundraising Appeal
Bay Area EEFC Scholarship Created
EEFC Donation Stores
Party on at Balkan Camp in Mendocino!
So Many Great Reasons…
A Banner Year for Scholarships
Kukeri in the Woodlands—Become a Magical Beast of the Forest
The 2014 Iroquois Springs Photo DVD from Margaret Loomis
Meet Volunteer Jenna Shearer, Marketing & Communications Committee
Spring 2015 Board Meeting Summary Letter
EEFC 2015 Spring Board Meeting Report
Letters to the Community — from the Board of Directors and Rachel MacFarlane
East Coast EEFC Community Forum in Boston
Message from Amy Mills on Behalf of the Board
Yes, you’re in the right place!
Earl Galitz
EEFC 2015 Community Forums
Share Camp. Spread the Word.
Balkan Music and Dance Workshops 2015
West Coast EEFC Community Forums Announced
Richard Herbert “Dick” Forsyth
Update from Executive Director Jay House
Fall 2013 Board Meeting Summary
Six-Month Update from Executive Director, Jay House Samios
Meet & Greet Events in NYC, Bay Area, Seattle, Chicago & Boston
Top 10 Misconceptions about Camp
ED Selection
Comments on ED Role May 2012
Board & Program Committee Update Feb. 2012
EEFC Board Meeting Notes: 1994 —2014
Zlatne Usted at Balkan Camp

EEFC and the Great Ripple Effect

When you experience a memorable evening of music and dancing, who gets the credit?

Most of us tend to think of the great musicians playing and singing their hearts out, sharing their phenomenal music with us. Our souls surge with the energy of the moment. Perhaps during a break in the music we might muse upon the musicians’ depth of talent. We may even reflect on the practice and rehearsing it takes to achieve a high level of kef-producing energy. But, how often does the question cross our minds: “Hmm, where did they learn this? Who taught them their craft?”

Rather than wait for an epiphany on the dance floor, now is the time to ponder the association between the Balkan Music & Dance Workshops and the final product of the many bands, choirs and dance organizations that owe so much of their repertoire to the EEFC, and why it’s good for such groups to support the EEFC by becoming contributing members. Money from our fundraising drives helps the EEFC keep a steady, reliable income stream to ensure the continuation of our good works: providing a safe and open venue for experienced and beginning musicians and dancers to meet, mix, learn from one another, and share their art.

 

Take the 10-Camper Pledge!

Another excellent way to support the EEFC is to steer more potential campers to the Workshops. If every one of the nearly five hundred campers nationwide each told ten people about camp, we could entice a large group of newcomers to the fold, so we’d never have under-attended camps. Therefore, I, Craig Kurumada, hereby pledge to tell at least ten people about Balkan camp. I plan to talk to leaders of a couple of local bands with a good deal of brass players, some talented dancers at an arts school, and members of various choirs and song circles in my neighborhood. Ten people? It’ll easily morph into twenty. Won’t you join me in my pledge?

 

Support Your Local Folk Musician

What happens if newcomers balk at the tuition for camp? Your own folk dance or music group can be of service! In our town, Arcata, California, the local folk dance group, the Humboldt Folk Dancers, allots a part of its annual budget to support people going to music and dance camps. From our experience, we recommend doing the kinds of activities you’re already comfortable with and can do with relative ease, for example, a one-time party with a prize drawing and a slightly elevated entrance fee. Tack on an extra buck or two. If you only raise a hundred bucks, do it three or four times a year. If you have a band, play one or two shows a year with the door set aside for camp scholarships.

 

The Bottom Line

Small contributions in money and effort over time will pay significant rewards. Investing in music for dancing, as we know from those great moments on the dance floor, is worth it. I invite you now to be part of the Great Balkan Camp Ripple Effect. Support the EEFC by donating money, spreading the word, and supporting your local community’s workshop attendees.

See you at camp!

—Craig Kurumada

Have other ideas or want to know more about HFD’s experience with funding local scholarships? Write to Craig via the EEFC Office and put “Attention: Craig” as the subject.