Door County and the Festival
The Door Peninsula, mid-America's favorite vacation area, is located in north east Wisconsin between Green Bay and Lake Michigan.  Door County, often alluded to as "the Cape Cod" of the Midwest, has something for everyone: sandy beaches, rocky shores, scenic trails & vistas, state parks, art galleries, music & theater, water sports, golf, unique shopping opportunities and a large selection of restaurants, including one with "goats on the roof". The Door County Folk Festival (DCFF) is one of the most fun-filled, enjoyable and educational dance weekends held in the Midwest. Each Year, the DCFF attracts between 250 and 300 participants to Door County, Wisconsin, from all around the U.S., Canada and other countries.  The DCFF begins on the Thursday following July 4th (Independence Day) and continues through Sunday.

This page focuses on activities that may be of interest to Contra, Square and/or Swing Dancers.  Full details about DCFF activities, registration and other information can be found on the Complete Activities Page or the Complete Schedule Page. Contact us via the web, e-mail or phone (listed above) for additional details on other activities, lodging, registration, etc.

Activities include: Dance activities include Contra/Square Dance, Argentine Tango and Beginning-Level Ethnic Folk Dance workshops . There will also be Children's Activities, a Group Dinner at the The Sandpiper Restaurant (Friday Evening), a Fish Boil Dinner in Sister Bay Park (Saturday Evening), a Contra/Square Dance Party (Friday Nite), 4 Ethnic Folk Dance Parties and a Mini-Music Concert (Friday Afternoon). There will also be Ethnic Singing Workshops (Friday/Saturday) , and Music Jam Sessions (Friday/Saturday).

Singing Workshops (Fri/Sat, 1:15pm, First Baptist Church): Tri Bratovchedki will lead singing workshops. The trio’s singing is characterized by dissonant harmonies and complex rhythms. Themes of love, grief, national pride, folk tales, legends, and deep religious faith give this music an energetic and intense quality. (Fri/Sat, 3:15pm, First Baptist Church): John Morovich will lead singing workshopsto the accompaniment of Balkan Cabaret Orchestra. Bring your voices and musical instruments!

Children's Activities: Friday & Saturday at 10:00am & 1:15pm: features crafts, story telling, sing-alongs, creative games and dancing provided free in Sister Bay Park.  Your children will enjoy interacting with new acquaintances and our good-natured, dynamic activity leaders. Please take note that the Children's activities in Sister Bay Park are not a baby sitting service.    Your children can be involved in these activities with your permission and consent and their willingness and ability to participate and interact with others.  The activities are geared to participants between the ages of 5 and 15, although there have been exceptions at both ends of the scale.   Please also note that the activities may be modified or truncated due to adverse weather conditions.  Please further note that there is no charge for these activities.  If you are considering having your kids participate, we would appreciate if if you would notify Dick or Miriam Miller by telephone: (608)-836-5114 or by email: miriam@dcff.net

Culture Sessions / Leader Discussion Groups: On Friday & Saturday during the lunch break, in Sister Bay Park (or the Village Hall), group leaders, callers, teachers and any other interested parties can network, share experiences and exchange ideas at these leader discussion forums, facilitated by members of the staff. Friday Topic: TBA. Saturday Topic: TBA.

Dance & Stress Relief Sessions: On Friday & Saturday during lunch (and by special appointment during the weekend), relax and unwind at the First Baptist Church of Sister Bay, BYO lunch & blanket. Sessions for individuals & partners. A portion of the fee supports the DCFF Scholarship Fund.  Arrange private sessions for Swedish, Myofascia, Energy and Lymphatic work.  Contact Mercedes: mercedes@dcff.net, (262)-632-2986.

Open Mike Opportunities: Warren Kubitschek coordinates Open Mike opportunities for musicians to play at Friday’s Group Dinner at The Sandpiper Restaurant (Baileys Harbor).  For details or to sign up to perform, contact  Warren: warren@dcff.net, (574)-631-3167 (days).

Group Dinner: We are excited about the opportunity to have the DCFF Group Dinner at a new location - The Sandpiper Restaurant in Baileys Harbor. Please join us Friday evening in this delightful for an enjoyable dining experience. There will be one seating at 6:30pm for this fixed-price meal - $19.00, Kids Under 13: $12 – Under 5: $6.00, special kids menu available – info@dcff.net - tax & tip included. The meal includes choice of entrée, soup, apple sauce, garlic bread, mixed fresh vegetables, apple crisp for dessert, choice of beverage. Alcoholic beverages are available at extra cost.  Reservations required, limit 100.  Specify your entrée on the Registration Form. Entrées include:

• Vegetarian Lasagna
• Lemon Pepper Broiled Whitefish w/rice pilaf
• Baked Chicken w/rice pilaf
• Roast Pork Loin in Burgundy Wine Sauce w/ rice pilaf  

Specify your entrée on the Registration Form.

Fish Boil Dinner: Saturday at 6:00, 6:30 & 7:00pm in Sister Bay Park. A visit to Door County isn't complete without experiencing a traditional fish boil dinner - even if only to watch. Dinner features freshly caught Lake Michigan Whitefish, boiled to perfection with new potatoes, sweet onions and spices and served with or without melted Wisconsin butter. While fish boils are thought to have originated with Scandinavian settlers and lumberjacks who discovered a tasty way to enjoy the fruits of Lake Michigan, there is also a tradition of fish boil dinners in Scotland using salmon. Fish boils feature both great food and great showmanship. The ingredients are boiled in a kettle with about 30 gallons of water over an open fire. After cooking a while, spices are added and as the fish oils rise to the surface of the boiling cauldron, the cooking crew tosses a small can of kerosene on the fire. A great burst of flame shoots up and the intense heat causes the pot to boil over, spilling the unappetizing fish oils over the side, extinguishing the fire and leaving the ingredients perfectly done, steaming hot and ready to serve. The fish, potatoes and onions are served with coleslaw and topped off with Door County Cherry pie for dessert. Coffee, iced tea, lemonade are included. BYO Beer & Wine. There will be three seatings at 6:00pm, 6:30pm and 7:00pm for this fixed-price meal - $17.00 - tax included. Reservations required, limit 35 per seating. Following dinner, there will be the usual live music, singing and dancing in the park and on the Sister Bay Pier before sunset. Specify your seating time on the Registration Form.

Music and Dancing in the Park: Musicians, remember to bring your instruments to Sister Bay Park during and after the Fish Boil Dinner - Saturday between 7pm and 8:30pm or so.  Come and join in the on the fun.

Silent Auction Benefit: Check your closets & bookshelves for folk & ethnic related articles that can find new life in a new home.  Whether or not you are able to attend the upcoming DCFF, please check your closets, bookshelves, music collections, etc. for folk & ethnic items that could find a new life in a new home.  Consider donating things related to ethnic dance, music, song, international travel, ethnic culture, foreign languages, etc. and that are still serviceable, wearable, usable, etc.  All proceeds from the DCFF Silent Auction contribute to the support of the 12 administrative staff work scholarships that make the festival run so smoothly.  The silent auction opens at the Thursday night party and closes on Saturday night at 11:30pm. This gives concert goers time to return to SBVH and place a final bid.  To donate items to DCFF’s Scholarship Fund, contact Mercedes: mercedes@dcff.net, (262)-632-2986 - Click Here for more information.

Scholarship Fund Contribution: DCFF would like to thank the Evanston Monday Night Folk Dance Group for contributing to the Work Scholars fund to the DCFF in the name of Peggy Eisen, a Chicago area dancer, who passed away in February 2007.

Contra/Square Dance Callers:

Roger Diggle (Madison, Wisconsin)
Roger Diggle hails from Madison, Wisconsin.  To his astonishment, he has been calling dances for about eighteen years.  One of the most widely traveled of the Midwest's callers, Roger has called dances in more than 25 states.  He is known for his careful dance selection, efficient teaching, and musical calling.  He has composed dances that have made their way throughout the U.S.  Roger is also an accomplished dance musician, and has played for dancing with a wide assortment of musicians.  He has a particular interest in using guitar as accompaniment to Northern-style dance music.  An unusually good whistler, Roger can, by himself, produce reasonable dance music and call the dance at the same time, all without ever touching an accordion.  He has been a staff caller and musician at camps and festivals from coast to coast.  Many dancers, callers, and musicians have enjoyed and benefitted from Roger's workshops, and from discussions he has led on various aspects of dancing, calling, choreography, making dance music, and dance organizing.  Roger Serves on the Executive Board of the Country Dance and Song Society.

Steve Pike (Madison, WI)
Steve "P" has been calling contras, squares and other dances of similar ilk for nearly ten years. His clear, concise, laid-back style is well-suited for everyone from hardcore contra dancers to first-time dancers. Steve has called in venues from New Mexico to New York. He can be found in Madison, WI on a permanent(?) basis, organizing and calling Contra and Square dances while earning his keep turning high school students into normal human beings.

Paul Collins (Chicago, Illinois)
"Paul C" has danced since the age of eight and has been an ethnic folk dance leader & square/contra dance caller since high school in the mid 1960's. Paul has been a guest caller at dances from the North Country to the Deep South and has even called squares and taught folk dancing for the hearing impaired at Galledet University in Washington. DC. Between 1966 and 1979, Paul led the University of Chicago Folk Dance Club and introduced squares and contras into the group's repertiore. After directing the U of C Folk Dancers' Annual Fall "International Folk Festival" for twelve years, in 1980 Paul joined Gerhard Bernhard in producing the DCFF and two years later became co-director. In 1989, Paul and Bill Sasso started the Mid-North Folk Dance Club that has today evolved into Ethnic Dance Chicago. Paul has also presented dance programs for kids in Chicago area schools, tutoring programs and scouting organizations.  Since 2000 Paul has spent a week in residency at the Spring Hill Middle School in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconson, helping the 8th grade classes prepare ethnic dance presentations for the School's International Festival. In the world outside of dance, Paul is an independent management consultant in web-based collaboration, group facilitation and personal network development and is a co-founder and director of the Midwest Facilitators' Network and is a student in Northwestern University's Leadership and Organization Behavior Program. 

Other Dance Instructors:

Alice Janotova (Strakonice, Czech Republic), (Dances of the Czech Republic)
Alice Janotova attended the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, studying Dance Pedagogy.  She is has been a dance instructor at the School of Basic Arts, Strakonice and a cast member of Leoš Janáček’s Opera Její pastorkyně (Jenůfa), National Theater Prague.  She is also a violinist and co-leader of bagpipe band Švandova dudácká muzika that accompanies the Czech Children’s Folklore Group Prácheňáček, and has been a dancer in the South Bohemian folklore group Prácheňský soubor písní a tanců.  Alice is fluent in English, German and basic Spanish. Her interests include concerts, theatre, movies, exhibitions, dancing, swimming, hiking, cycling and traveling.  Alice is spending the summer working in Fish Creek, after which she plans to travel and to do some teaching or presentations of Czech folklore (dance, music, costumes, etc.) in Czech communities.  If any groups are interested in inviting her to do workshops in the fall, she may be contacted at: alicejanotova@seznam.cz

Nick Aguilar (Columbia Heights, MN) (Argentine Tango),
Nick Aguilar has been avidly dancing Argentine tango for seven years and he deejays various tango dances (milongas) in the Twin Cities. He has occasionally taught tango at community ed. classes and has taken numerous tango workshops with many nationally known American and internationally known Argentine teachers. He greatly enjoys introducing people to the music and dance of Argentine tango. 

Mary Garvin (Saint Paul, MN) (Argentine Tango)
Mary Garvin has taught at the Door County Folk Festival, Chicagoland Spring Fling and other dance groups and festivals around the country. She is a leader at Tapestry - the Twin-Cities locally supported and organized Ethnic Dance Center and also one of the organizers of SNOPA! - a Twin-Cities Winter Dance Weekend.  She was on the dance committee of the folk dance group at Columbia University at Earle Hall in New York City.   She was a member of modern & folk dance repertory companies at the University of Oregon, was a college dance Instructor and was a performer in the George Tomov Yugoslav Dance Ensemble.  Mary has become addicted to Argentine tango in the last couple of years but stays loyal to her international dance roots.

Musicians:

The Last Gaspé (Contra Dance Band - Madison, Wisconsin)
The Last Gaspé, a New England-style contra dance band based in Madison, WI, plays Canadian, Irish and American fiddle music that swings. The band blends traditional forms with contemporary innovations to create an infectious, exciting sound. The band includes John Kraniak on guitar, Bob Walser on piano, Maria Terres on fiddle, and Kevin Clark on bass. Founded in 1987, they have played for dances and folk festivals throughout the U.S. The musicians come from very different backgrounds, ranging from self-taught to conservatory trained. They all share a love of dancing, so while they aim to be more innovative, they respect tradition and strive for danceability throughout their music. Their wide-ranging musical influences range from Count Basie to Michael Coleman to the Grateful Dead. Some of these influences show up in their approach to melody and some in their treatment of rhythm. While they don't play jazz, they take a jazz approach to playing, stressing improvisation, musical interplay and a solid ensemble sound. Play some Last Gaspé Tunes (RealPlayer Required): Medley of Reels, Medley of Jigs, Two Rivers Waltz, Play All.

Balkan Cabaret (Seattle, WA)
Balkan Cabaret formed in May of 2001 when Mary Sherhart, acclaimed Balkan vocalist, started working with the folk dance orchestra Nisava. We had a common desire to revisit and perform those wonderful Balkan standards heard in cafes, many from over 50 years ago. Balkan Cabaret is: Joe Finn, violin and clarinet; Michael Lawson, accordion and vocals; Steve Ramsey, guitar, tambura, bugarija and vocals; Mary Sherhart, vocals; Rich Thomas, bass and vocals.  On this tour, John Morovich will replace Mary Sherhart.  Balkan Cabaret continues its journey into the passing world of starogradski (Old City songs of the Balkans). We have been inspired by many warmly received performance experiences and motivated by the irrepressible emotion this music releases in so many listeners. The unexpected generosity of our ethnic audiences brought us a wealth of music sources - mostly old, but some new - with their hope that we would perform their beloved songs. Balkan Cabaret is grateful and honored to play this music. We endeavor to infuse every note with respect and appreciation for the cultures that created these treasures. For more information: http://www.balkancabaret.com

Nick Bratkovich (Tulsa, OK)
Nick Bratkovich was born in Milwaukee WI in 1951. He is a son of Serbian parents who immigrated to the United States after World War II. He began playing the accordion at age 6 and started his first band at age 13, the popular Šumadija Orchestra of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He performed with this group throughout the 60's at Serbian churches and ethnic folk festivals in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, Canada. During the 70's he was a member of the famous Beograd Orchestra of Milwaukee, performing at the Saratoga Lounge on South 16th Street. It was during this time that he expanded his repertoire to include not only Serbian music, but Balkan and International folk music as well. While living in Texas during the 80's, he performed solo for both Serbian and International folk dancers in Dallas, Austin and Houston. He currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his wife Nancy. They have three grown children living in Texas and Utah. He still performs with the original members of the Šumadija Orchestra, now known as the Kumovi Orchestra of Los Angeles, California, and he also enjoys performing solo for international folk dancers in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Texas. http://www.bratkovichmusic.com

Tri Bratovchedki (Madison, WI & Vadnais Heights, MN)
The "three brats" (Three Cousins - Nancy Yugo, Debbie Kmetz, Dan Garvin) specialize in Balkan & Eastern European village music, and has been a popular addition to DCFF.  The trio’s singing is characterized by dissonant harmonies and complex rhythms. Themes of love, grief, national pride, folk tales, legends, and deep religious faith give this music an energetic and intense quality.  The trio's current repertoire includes Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, and Ukrainian songs.