Come out to our very own Ithaca Oldtime Gathering, The Big Hoedown, Thursday, Aug. 27th to Sunday, Aug. 30th 2026! Gates will open at 3pm on Thursday (do not arrive early) and close at 2pm on Sunday. It will take place at the end of Teeter Road in Enfield, NY at a beautiful location with flat campsites and a view of the Finger Lakes hills. Camp out for the weekend, or come for the day. Early bird tickets on sale now (below)!
This is a festival dedicated to Appalachian string band music. There will be no performances, but rather gatherings of folks playing their own music at their personal camp sites. This style of music is usually played with acoustic instruments- fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, mountain dulcimer and bass, etc.. You may also hear music from related traditions: a cajun jam or a mountain gospel sing. As you walk around the festival you will find small, informal, jams with 4-5 people in a tight circle, a fiddle and banjo player knee to knee, as well as larger open community jams. String band music is rooted in the Appalachian “front porch” and social dance music traditions.
In addition to a weekend of jamming, there will be a number of special events:
- Thurs/Fri/Sat facilitated Community Jams
- Friday Ice Cream Social
- Saturday morning Yoga
- Saturday evening Square Dance called by Nancy Spero and Marc Faris
- Saturday evening Gumbo Dinner for purchase, by Cole Stearns
- Sunday morning Shape Note Sing
There will be walk-in tent camping in the shady woods and car camping in the field. No electric hookups at camp sites so make sure you bring your headlamps. Small open fires are permitted. Bathrooms, showers, and drinking water provided. We will have a general store with essentials including ice, hot coffee, hot dogs, and seltzer.
**IMPORTANT: Early bird tickets are on sale until June 1st, 2026. After that, the price will go up. Please buy your tickets now so we can plan accordingly. Camping is also limited, so this will help with a head count. Kids under 15 are free!
Please contact us (below) with any questions, and if you are interested in doing a work trade for the weekend. And please join the Mailing List to hear all the latest news.
Hosted by Rosie Newton and friends
