Bear Hug Mountain Festival 2024
Contra Dance & Music Camp
September 6 - 8, 2024
On the Shores of Beautiful Flathead Lake, Montana
Online registration is closed. If you need to sign-up now, please call Sky at
(four-o-six) 459-1811.
Get ready to contradance, sing, swim, canoe, and play music at the 2024 Bear Hug Mountain Festival weekend on the shores of Montana's Flathead Lake! The bands, Contra Sutra and Swiftcurrent, will be providing the music to the calling of Susan Petrick and Christa Torrens. Singles, couples, families, and all ages are welcome! Entertainment, meals, and lodging (shared cabins) are provided. You can also tent or RV. Hope to see ya!
Contra Sutra
Dave Bartley, on guitar, mandolin and cittern, combines a broad musical background with the rhythm sense of a drummer, providing an exciting and musical whirlwind of sound. He has played with the groundbreaking trio, KGB, for 30 years, and many other bands. He has also written almost 400 contra, English and couple dance tunes!
Ben Schreiber, a fiddler and tune writer rooted in the contra dance scene, brings a diverse musical palette influenced by years in the San Francisco Bay Area. While best known for his contributions to contra dance bands like Uncle Farmer, the Dam Beavers, Offbeats, and Potent Brew, he also performs with the chamber-folk trio, Long Story Short.
Marni Rachmiel has been playing for contra and English country dances since 1990. Bringing soaring harmonies and funky groove on the flute & sax -- and matching tunes to dances for maximal dance ecstasy -- is her happy place. Her improvisational CD, “Violet” with Reverie, is available on Bandcamp
Rich Scher, percussionist, has incredible musical depth: keyboard
player and percussionist for contra and English; songwriter/producer for
well-known recording artists; composer of contemporary classical music; K-8 music educator; and workshop clinician for classroom and music teachers.
Swiftcurrent
Come and enjoy wild and scenic music from Swiftcurrent, an innovative and energetic band of accomplished musicians from the Flathead Valley and the Pacific Northwest.
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Barbara Calm, an early member of Flathead favorite Tra le Gael, brings hammered dulcimer, bouzouki and the occasional trombone to the band’s eclectic mix of instruments.
Ed Boggs finds inspiration in almost every kind of music, from playing in reggae and rock bands, to founding the Tropical Montana Marimba Ensemble and playing in the Kalispell Irish Session and TLG. He is a fiddler at heart, adding a solid rhythm guitar and bass to this ensemble.
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Jason Foy anchors the group with proficiency on whistles, flutes and winds, bringing complexity, variety and playfulness to this band as well as TLG and every Irish session he can manage to find.
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Julie Bennett is a Drummer and Percussionist from Olympia, WA, and has been playing Contra dances since 2009. Drawing upon various styles of music, she adds a tasteful blend of instruments with the bands Contra Quartet, Olympia Volunteer String Band, Hot Seat, and many others. Julie is also part of the Vashon Sessions recording project and an Irish Session instigator.
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Together they are Swiftcurrent, overflowing the boundaries of traditional Celtic music to lift your spirits as well as your feet!
Susan Petrick
An avid dancer for many years, Susan Petrick started calling for contra dances in 2000, and teaching couple dances, including waltz, cross-step waltz, and hambo, shortly thereafter. Susan lives in Redwood City, CA and has become a regional treasure with national prominence, calling for dance weekends and festivals throughout the country. She is known for her clear teaching, efficient guidance, and expert pacing, making even complex dances accessible to all. Recently retired, Susan is a cognitive psychologist who managed teams of User Experience researchers at Google.
Christa Torrens is an upbeat, engaging caller known for her stage presence, clear, concise teaching, and short walkthroughs. She found her way onto a festival dance floor in 2001 and has been an avid contra and English Country dancer ever since. Dance calling is a way to share her joy of dance with others, and she loves to get folks of all experience levels out on the floor and having fun. Christa has been calling contras since 2011 and English Country dances since 2020, and her dance selection and smooth voice have delighted dancers across the country. When she’s not calling or dancing, you can find her at work confronting ecological models with data or at play in the beautiful Mountain West.
Christa Torrens
At Camp
Arrival
Camp opens at 4:00 PM on Friday. Upon reaching camp --
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1) Check in at the Dining Hall directly after parking your vehicle.
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2) Ask for a Camp Map which will show cabin layouts, number/types of rooms and beds and whether there's a same sex cabin, e.g. All Women's Cabin.
3) Tour the camp to select your preferred cabin (note the cabin name!) and bunk. You might leave a jacket, personal item or note on the bunk to claim it.
4) Note the name of the cabin and return to the Dining Hall to reserve the space. (Or indicate tent/RV site.)
5) After registering, you can drive to your cabin (or tent/RV site) to unload.
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6) Re-park your vehicle in the main lot above the Dining Hall.
Accommodations
You can choose bunks in more than a dozen rustic cabins of various sizes, or set up a tent along the shore or in an open field. Other facilities include: dining hall; restroom and shower facilities; dock, swimming area and canoes; basketball and volleyball courts; ping pong pavilion; tenting and RV space.
Cabins
Stove and refrigerator; living room and porch. Bath and shower facilities are a short walk from the cabins.
Dining Hall
Cabins
Food
Local dancers will provide a potluck dinner on Friday night, 6:00 to 7:00 PM. The camp provides three meals on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. The kitchen staff will try to accommodate those with special dietary needs. (Use comment line on registration form.)
What To Bring
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smooth sole dance shoes
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dance clothes
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pillow
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bedding (blankets, sheets, and/or sleeping bag)
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warm clothing
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rain gear
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swim suit
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towel
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personal drink mug
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musical instruments
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cash for CDs
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fragrance-free hygiene products (toiletries)
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towel
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ear plugs
Camp Rules (please respect)
NO dogs !
NO alcohol or recreational drugs
NO indoor smoking
Park only in designated areas
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smiles, humor & savoire faire
More Info
Friday evening begins with a potluck at 6:00 PM, supplied by local dancers, followed by a dance at 7:45 PM.
The full weekend schedule will be available at registration or possibly here as a download later.
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Camp ends with lunch at 12:45 PM on Sunday.
Cell reception may be spotty. Emergency phone messages can be left at (406) 844-3483. There is Wi-Fi at the dining hall.
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Dancing shoes should be without black rubber soles/heels -- with smooth leather soles -- to protect the dance floor from black marks. No outdoor shoes, please.
COVID Policy: Masks are optional and vaccinations are recommended but not required. We will have N-95 masks at the festival as well as COVID test kits.
If you experience COVID-19 symptoms* before the festival, please get tested and contact bearhugfestival@gmail.com if positive.
* Symptoms may include sudden fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat More info on symptoms.
Carpool!
Sign-up to carpool here.
If you want to delete your trip or edit, please email bearhugfestival@gmail.com.
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Questions about carpooling?
Email: bearhugfestival@gmail.com
Directions to camp
Bear Hug is held at the Flathead Lake United Methodist Camp (FLUMC) located off Highway 93 on the western shore of the lake, between Polson and Somers.
Coming from the south on Highway 93, the Bear Hug ''turn here'' sign stands about three-quarters of a mile north of the Rollins Store, on the Right.
Coming from the north on Highway 93, look for the sign on your left at mile marker 89, about nine miles south of Lakeside. Turn east (left) onto Rollins Lakeshore Drive and follow the Bear Hug and Methodist camp signs, keeping to the middle fork at the Fire Hall.
Park in the lot above camp and walk to the dining hall to register, You might bring a small personal item (i.e. pillow) you can put on a bed to claim it.
Once you decide on a cabin you can drive there to unload.
Click the map for a Google map!
Registration & Fees
Online registration is now closed.
1) If you'd like to sign up late, OR 2) have questions about camp...
please call Sky at (four-o-six) 459-1811.
Cancellation Policy
For cancellations received before August 20th, $40 will be retained. For cancellations after August 20, no refund will be made. For cancellations due to health reasons at any time, please contact Sky Cova. Phone: (406) 459-1811. Email: bearhugfestival@gmail.com.
Looking forward to dancing with you!
Last updated August 26, 2024