YDW 2025

September 26–28, 2025 at Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, VT. The 15th annual YDW, and the first year at a new venue — Hulbert — after moving from Kinhaven Music School in Weston, VT (2011–2024).

Schedule

FRIDAY

  • 4:00–6:00 PM: Arrival & Check-In (Porch of main building)
    • Please be prepared to show a negative rapid test to a Committee member after arrival on site
    • Second test 24 hours later before Saturday dinner
  • 6:30–7:30 PM: Dinner (Dining Hall) — Potluck
  • 8:00–11:30 PM: Welcome Dance (Dance Hall) — Contra, announcements, then English
  • 11:30 PM: Snack! (Dining Hall)
  • Midnight onward: Line dancing (Upper Dining Hall)

SATURDAY

  • 8:30–9:30 AM: Breakfast (Dining Hall)
  • 9:30–10:45 AM: Balfolk (Dance Hall) — Helen & Rose ft. Guillaume
  • 11:00 AM–12:15 PM: English Country Dancing (Dance Hall)
  • 12:30–1:30 PM: Lunch and Rapid Testing (outside Dining Hall / Dining Hall)
    • Please present your negative test to a Committee member to be checked off the list.
  • 1:45–2:45 PM: Camper-led Activities
    • Line Dancing 2.0 (Dance Hall)
    • Sea Shanty Sing (Pirate Ship!!!)
  • 3:00–4:00 PM: Contra Lab (Dance Hall)
  • 4:45–5:45 PM: Community Conversation
  • 6:00–7:00 PM: Dinner (Dining Hall)
  • 7:30–11:45 PM: Evening Dance (Dance Hall) — Contra & English, with Charts and Graphs at the break!
  • 11:30 PM: Snack! (Dining Hall)
  • Midnight and straight on ‘til morning (or not):
    • Fusion Dancing (Upper Dining Hall)
    • Jamming (Party Barn)
    • Pub Sing (The Cave)

SUNDAY

  • 8:00–9:00 AM: Breakfast (Dining Hall)
  • 9:00–9:30 AM: Cabin Cleanout
  • 9:30–10:30 AM: Morning Waltzing (Dance Hall) — The Pegasus Collective
  • 10:30 AM–Noon: Camper-led Contra (Dance Hall)
  • Noon–12:45 PM: Lunch (Dining Hall)
  • 12:45 PM: Photos!
  • 1:15–3:00 PM: Farewell Dance (Dance Hall)
  • 3:00 PM: Farewell Snacks! (Front Porch)
  • After 3:00 PM: Cleaning, goodbyes, help moving furniture!
    • Pack your bags, and sweep out your cabin. Help us pack up Hobart.
    • We love you, but you absolutely gotta leave by 4 PM. See you next year!

Talent

Helen & Rose ft. Guillaume — Contra band

Helen Kuhar (guitar, vocals, harmonium), Rose Jackson (fiddle, vocals), and Guillaume Sparrow-Pepin (accordion). Drawing on traditional tunes from Ireland, New England, Quebec, and France, Helen & Rose craft vocal harmonies for age-old songs with modern relevance. Rose Jackson grew up in the folk scene of western Massachusetts and has toured contra dance festivals with bands including Polaris and Stove Dragon; Helen Kuhar hails from Cambridge, MA and plays for contra dances around the country.

Alyssa (Lyss) Adkins — Calling contras

The Pegasus Collective — English country dance band

Sam Zakon-Anderson (piano), Peter Subramanian (fiddle), Cecily Mills (cello), and Steven Bluestein (woodwinds).

Imogen Mills — Calling English

Aviva Davis — Queer Country Line Dancing

Teaching and music.

Photos

Google Photos album

Notes

  • Lost and found coordinator: Hazel Edwards

  • 2025 marked the move from Kinhaven Music School in Weston, VT to Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, VT — the first venue change since 2011.
  • The Pirate Ship and The Cave are venue features unique to Hulbert.
  • Registration ran May 18–June 30, 2025.

Committee

Annie, Eileen O’Grady, Gus Cantieni, Hazel Edwards, Kemma, Molly, and Rhia. (Eileen O’Grady and Gus Cantieni also played with Calluna at YDW 2019 and 2022.)

Pricing

Pay-what-you-can system. Exact minimum and at-cost prices not confirmed.