About the Festival
The Door County Festival has come a long way since 1980. At that time, Gerhard Bernhard (founder, of Sister Bay, WI) had the idea to share his passions for music and dance with local residents. Gerhard then invited his dancing friend Paul Collins (Chicago, IL) to help manage Festival activities.
By the third year, Gerhard and Paul realized that locals were focused on working the tourist trade and the future success of the Festival would hinge on transforming it into an event that would attract folk dancers and their families and friends to Door County from the greater Midwest Region (and beyond).
Dancing in beautiful surroundings, engaging an excellent group of teachers, musicians and singers, and offering innovative programs have all contributed to DCFF’s fun & relaxed atmosphere and has helped the Festival attract and retain a really cool assortment of participants who attend and support the Festival, year after year.
DCFF has undergone many changes of events that have resulted in even more fun. In the early years, the Festival offered a Sunset Dinner Cruise on Green Bay with live music, and even Group Dinners in local restaurants for land-lubbers. These dining events eventually gave way to a Potluck Dinner held in a beautiful motel courtyard where participants shared and enjoyed a wide variety of home-made dishes. The Friday dinners have evolved into a Friday Evening Desert Social.
Over the years, several memorable events have occurred at DCFF, including the celebration of a unique time twice in one day in 1990. At exactly 12:34:56, 7/8/90 (am & pm) dancers paused momentarily to observe this special time. In addition, there have been occasions when dancers could step outside of Sister Bay Village Hall to observe the Northern Lights.
At the second DCFF, a Saturday group dinner at a Traditional Door County Fish Boil was offered as an option. The Saturday Evening Fish Boil Dinner, followed by music and dancing in the Park and the Sunset Walk/Dance on the Pier became a lasting tradition. The Festival instituted a Sunday night Survivors’ party (for those who wanted to stay until the bitter end), where all requests for favorite dances were honored. Late-night dance parties became the norm and the infamous “Folk Dance Olympics” became another extremely fun activity, These and other extra events have added up to special reasons why DCFF has been so well-loved, by so many, for so long!
Registration:
https://www.dcff.net/?fbclid=IwAR1si_dMdNoLfYaxRw71mcWJEBp07ocdhqaxslMqTh9yV_-xj9wSJ14jH78
44th Annual Door County Folk Festival
2023 Dance Instructors & Discussion Leaders(From Illinois, Bulgaria, Peru, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Minnesota)
https://www.dcff.net/staff/regional-dance-instructors_2023.html
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Educational workshops
The Peruvian cultural workshops have the objective of following the curriculum or lesson plan connected to the institution's topic to educate all participants, the lesson plans are focused on history, creativity, and cultural transmission. This program wants to find excellent outcomes using indigenous techniques and the personal experience of each participant.
The workshops can be once or five times a week 45 or 60 minutes per workshop depending on the institution. The program count on qualified staff who provides enrichment activities during their visit. Funds for this program are paid by the organization that invites us and we will look for public funding to provide services to youth from low-income.
