34th Annual Door County Folk Festival
Get Your Foot In The Door!
Wednesday-Sunday, July 10-14, 2013 - Baileys Harbor, Ephraim & Sister Bay, Wisconsin
Home - Tel: (847)-846-8139, (773)-634-9381 -
 
Youth Activities

 
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BACKGROUND (back to top)
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Dick and Miriam Miller of Middleton, Wisconsin, have been the primary organizers of Youth Activities during the mid morning and early afternoon periods of the Door County Folk Festival (DCFF). 

At first, it seemed as though the main beneficiaries of these activities would be the folk festival participants who wanted something for their kids to do while they attended the dance or music workshops.  However, since then, many residents, vacationers and passers by have brought their youngsters to Sister Bay Waterfront Park to participate in these wholesome fun events. 

The outdoor Youth Activities have attracted the attention of people not connected to the festival itself. 

Many passers by have stopped and watched participants having fun and have asked whether their children could join in. 

The answer, of course, is yes.
 
Click here for Dick Miller's review of the 2002 Youth Activities.

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Although Miriam and Dick Miller have been the primary coordinators, many other DCFF participants have been supportive and have gotten involved in these activities.  Supporters have included: Cindy Gardner (a swing dance instructor from the Twin Cities), Tom Clark (a storyteller from Kenosha), Mercedes Dzindzeleta (a massage therapist from Racine), Patricia Deer (a massage therapist from the Chicago area), Pat Gladchild (a dance therapist from the Twin Cities), Patti Cohen (a school teacher from Winnipeg), and Paul Collins (DCFF Co-Director). Many other participants have given of their time to share ethnic folk dances and other experiences with youth activity participants.
STAFF (back to top)

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Miriam & Dick Miller
(Middleton, WI)
(Youth Activities)
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Miriam & Dick Miller (Middleton, WI) (back to top)
Miriam & Dick
are both retired school teachers and coaches who have been involved with youth and children for many years. 
Miriam was a special Education Lead Teacher in an alternative school for Emotionally Disturbed adolescents located in Baraboo, WI.  She also conducted nature classes in the summer for the Middleton recreation department.  Dick was a Positive Behavior Support specialist for the Madison School District. Miriam and Dick have also worked numerous summers for the Middleton Recreation Department. Miriam currently teaches a class called Art in the Park and Richard assists with adult tennis. Together they enjoy hanging out with the "kids" of all ages who attend the festival and can be found painting rocks, singing and playing games.

Tentative - On Wednesday morning and afternoon, Miriam and Dick lead creativity activities for the Northern Door YMCA Day Campers.

Tentative - At the Saturday morning Youth Activity Program in Sister Bay Waterfront Park (10:00am - 11:45am), Miriam and Dick may be joined by Patti Cohen (dance instruction).

If you are considering having your kids participate, we would appreciate if you would notify Dick or Miriam Miller either by telephone: (608)-836-5114 or by email:

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Patti Cohen
(Winnipeg, MB Canada)
(Dance Instructor, Youth Activities)

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Patti Cohen (Winnipeg, MB, Canada) (back to top)
Patti is a teacher at MIFDA in Winnipeg.  Patti danced for many years in Chicago and is a former member of International Dancers.  She was also very active in the folk dance group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  She used to run a folk dance group for children at her school who performed for the annual Multicultural event and for other schools.  Patti used to teach dances to the Romanian dance group in Winnipeg for the annual Folklorama Festival each August. She has also taught at SNOPA. Patti has recently become immersed in Greek dance, attending seminars in Prespes, Greece, Klironomia in Toronto and Greek dancing in Jerusalem.  She is thrilled to have learned with some of the finest Greek dance teachers brought in from Greece to Toronto as well as Winnipeg, where she dances with the Kefi Dancers Adult group. A Kindergarten teacher for many years, she presently teaches Reading Recovery in the Winnipeg Public School System.  Patti is thrilled to be returning to the Door County Folk Festival.

Tentative - At the Saturday morning Youth Activity Program in Sister Bay Waterfront Park (10:00am - 11:45am), Patti will join Miriam and Dick Miller and will teach some ethnic dances to participants.

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Paul Collins
(Chicago, IL)
(Co-Director, Planner, Dance Instructor, Contra/Square Dance Caller)

(847)-846-8139

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Paul Collins (Chicago, IL) (back to top)
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 Gallaudet 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 repertoire. 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 1999 Paul has done an annual week in residency at the Spring Hill Middle School in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, 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 consultant in interpersonal and group communications strategies IT outsourcing strategies and is a co-founder and director of the Midwest Facilitators' Network. 

On Wednesday morning and afternoon, Paul Collins will teach dances to the Northern Door YMCA Day Campers who will perform these dances at DCFF Mini-Concerts at Sister Bay (Scandia) and Baileys Harbor.

ACTIVITIES (back to top)
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Through the years, the Festival has offered wide variety of activities, including story telling, face painting, puppet shows, crafts, singing and dancing, and a variety of group games, such as volleyball, tag, "spud", tree tag, and various relay races, "nature bingo", 500, touch football and of course, animal Olympics.  Over the years, the coordinators have learned that the participant's most favorite activities are rock painting, sand candle making, parachute games, volleyball and some basic folk songs and dances. 

The DCFF Youth Activities are conducted on Friday & Saturday at 10:00am and again at 1:15pm. The beautiful setting of Sister Bay Waterfront Park is certainly a draw for "youth" of all ages to participate.  On days when the weather is bad, indoor activities such as crafts, music and puppet shows are conducted in the basement of Sister Bay Village Hall.

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 children participate, we would appreciate if you would notify Dick or Miriam Miller - Telephone: (608)-836-5114 or by email: .

Northern Door YMCA Program (back to top)
 

Coordinators: Paul Collins, Miriam & Dick Miller, Patti Cohen, Tonya Crowell

NORTHERN DOOR YMCA DAY CAMP PROGRAM (Wed-Sat) (back to top)

The Northern Door YMCA has asked DCFF to include ethnic dance programs for youth participating in its Day Camp
. DCFF wiill offer dance workshops on Wednesday as well as opportunities for partipants to demonstrate the dances they have learned to the Scandia Retirerment Community in Sister Bay (Thursday) and to the Baileys Harbor Seniors Group (Friday). See Youth Activities Schedule Below.

 

SITTERS (back to top)
The Youth Activities are provided by the DCFF, as a public service, free of charge.  Your children will enjoy interacting with new acquaintances and our good-natured, dynamic activity leaders. 

Please take note that the Youth Activities in Sister Bay Waterfront 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. 

If you are in need of a sitter, with advance notice, we will try to match you with a sitter.  There is limited availability so act sooner than later - Telephone: (847)-846-8139 or by email: .

 
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DOOR COUNTY VACATION DESTINATION (back to top)
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". 

Click here for links to other Door County resources and activities.

Click here for Dick Miller's review of the 2002 Youth Activities.

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Youth Activities Schedule (back to top)
(Subject to Change)
Wed
10:00am

11:30am

SBVH Group 1 Morning Activities
  • Folk Dance Workshop
Wed
10:00am

11:30am

SBVH Group 2 Morning Activities
  • Creativity Workshop / International Games
Wed
12:00pm

1:30pm

SBVH Group 1 Afternoon Activities
  • Creativity Workshop / International Games
Wed
12:00pm

1:30pm

SBVH Group 2 Afternoon Activities
  • Folk Dance Workshop
Thu
10:00am

11:00am

SCA Performance @ Scandia Retirement Community Mini-Concert
  • Dance Performance
Fri
10:00am

11:45am

SBWP Youth Activities
  • Rock Painting (a DCFF favorite!)
  • Cultural exposure to International folk arts and games from a variety of countries, including but not limited to: Bulgaria, Denmark, Sweden, Israel, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Ghana...
Fri
12:30pm

2:30pm

BHTH Performance @ Baileys Harbor Town Hall Mini-Concert
  • Dance Performance
Fri
1:15pm
3:00pm
SBWP Youth Activities
  • Arts
  • Crafts
  • Games
  • Native American culture themes: creating Dream Catchers, making drums, nature and Native American games
Sat
10:00am
11:45am
SBWP Youth Activities
  • Creating simple puppets
  • Folk dancing and drumming with Patti Cohen
Sat
1:15pm

3:00pm

SBWP Youth Activities
  • Children's folk songs
  • Sand painting
  • Parachute games
  • Traditional park favorites-tree tag, animal olympics, spud

LEGEND

SBVH = Sister Bay Village Hall - (Hwy 42, Bay Side, about 4 blocks N of Hwy 57 end)
EVH = Ephraim Village Hall - (Just S of intersection of Hwys 42 & Q)
BHTH = Baileys Harbor Town Hall - (Intersection of HWYs 57 and F, 9 mi S of SBVH, W side of 57)
BHP = Baileys Harbor Park - (Intersection of HWYs 57 and F, 9 mi S of SBVH, W side of 57, Adjacent to BHTH)
SBWP = Sister Bay Waterfront Park - (Hwy 42, Bay Side, about 3 blocks N of Hwy 57, Adjacent to SBVH)
FBC = First Baptist Church of Sister Bay - (Hwy 42, Bay Side, 1 mi S of SBVH)
GAMS = Gibraltar Area Middle School Gymnasium - (Hwy 42 in Fish Creek, 5 miles S of EVH)
VIM = The Voyager Inn Motel (Sister Bay) - (Hwy 57, 1 mi S of SBVH, W side of 57)
SCA = Scandia Retirement Community (Sister Bay) - (Hwy 57, .5 mi S of SBVH, W side of 57) (290 Smith Dr, Sister Bay, WI 54234)
SBSC = Sister Bay Sports Complex - Mill Road & Woodcrest Road (from HWY 42)
TBD = To be determined

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