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Performers
Bands
Houseblend
Music from a wide variety of fiddle tune traditions is played by this band, southern mountain, celtic, New England to name a few.
The band's core is formed by
Carla and David Arnold
and is fortified by whichever of La Grande's many talented folk musicians they've talked into playing with them for that event.
Frequent collaborators include
Michael Snider and,
Rick and Evie Nelson.
Wednesday Night Band
From Walla Walla, WA.
Their name derived from their original regular practice night, this band has an impressive twelve years of history as the house band at the Walla Walla/Milton-Freewater dances.
At any one performance this band may be comprised of anywhere from two to a dozen members.
Regular band members include
Trudy Ostby (member of the musical Tucker clan) on fiddle,
Malinda Pankl on fiddle,
Terri Trick on piano,
Clark Colahan on penny whistle and flute,
Kevin Stauffer on guitar,
Joe Corvino on guitar and bodhran,
and Ned Shafer on guitar.
The Wildcat Wrasslers
This Enterprise based band specializes in hot southern-style Appalachian old-time fiddle and banjo music.
Callers
Larry B. Smith
The folkdance gem of the Grande Ronde Valley, widely renowned and admired.
Originally from Brasstown, North Carolina, Larry has studied and performed many types of traditional dance since he was a youngster.
A skillful teacher, Larry's honey-mellow voice guides beginning and experienced dancers alike through some of the the best dances of the last two centuries.
Dan Clark
A folksy, friendly caller from the dance community in Walla Walla. Dan is a mainstay of the dances there, often sharing calling duty with Howard Ostby.
Informed by 15 years of calling, Dan also writes contra dances, including the unusual Weston Mountain Zia.
Dan can be reached at clarkdb@bmi.net.
Howard Ostby
Long-time caller of the Walla Walla dances, Howard originally learned calling from our own Larry B. Smith about twelve years ago.
Since then, as well as calling many, many local dances, he has called at dances in twelve different west coast cities plus New England and Japan.
In Walla Walla he often shares calling duty with Dan Clark.
Howard's favorites dances to call are contras, but he also likes calling circles, squares and other formations.
He says that he most enjoys getting newcomers happily involved, as well as teaching more experienced dancers figures with challenging moves.
Gina Massoni
A regular caller at the Pendleton and Hood River dances, Gina also calls in Seattle and for our dances on an occasional basis.
She loves to dance (and is a very graceful dancer) and brings her enthusiasm for both new and traditional contra dances,
including reels, circle mixers, and, of course, the longways set.
Gina will provide an evening of pure dance fun for the community.
She can be reached at: massoni@wwics.com
Bill Martin
From Vancouver, Washington (not B.C.), Bill is a very entertaining caller and musician that specializes in old-timey figures.
Bill's capacity for spontaneous inventiveness from the caller's mike is not easily equaled, and makes for extraordinary fun at every dance he calls.
Expect the unexpected!
Mark Lewis
A recent import to the Grande Ronde valley, Mark brings nearly a decade of experience in Irish Set and Ceili dancing to his teaching and calling of Irish social dances.
He can be emailed at: mlewis@eoni.com
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