For thirty-five years, the Balkan Music & Dance Workshops have brought the finest available teachers and performers together with thousands eager to share the joys of Balkan traditions. With dance instruction, culture corners, instrumental, vocal, and ensemble classes, days of lessons and nights of parties, these weeklong workshops on both coasts have been an unforgettable annual celebration for a growing and increasingly diverse community.
But tuition from the workshops does not cover the cost of putting them on. Our organization relies on donations to break even.
Please help keep the EEFC experience alive by becoming a member or making a donation.
Three ways to join the EEFC or make a donation:
1) Mail-in membership/donation form.
Print the 2012 donation form and mail it in with your donation check or credit card information.
2) Call EEFC at 510/547-1118 to join with a credit card.
3) Sign up securely online.
The easiest way to join or make a donation is to click here for online donations. We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and debit cards.
Year 2012 membership levels are:
- $65 Basic
- $150 Family
- $35 Student/ Low Income
- $90 Band/Chorus/Dance Group
- $125 Business Member
- $1,500 Individual Lifetime
- $3,000 Family Lifetime
All contributions are fully tax-deductible. Additional donations are gratefully accepted. Please see the form for more ways to give.
How does the EEFC enrich people’s lives?
The East European Folklife Center brings beauty, music, dance and culture to the lives of the people who attend its workshops, and its influence reaches out in countless ways to enrich the lives of others in the wider community.
For thirty-five years, the Balkan Music & Dance Workshops have brought the finest available teachers and performers together with thousands eager to share the joys of Balkan traditions. With dance instruction, culture corners, instrumental, vocal, and ensemble classes, days of lessons and nights of parties, these weeklong workshops have been an unforgettable annual celebration for a growing and increasingly diverse community on both U.S. coasts.
The Balkan camps form a kind of charmed circle. Here adults find permission to be beginners, beginners can grow into accomplished performers, friendships deepen, and American and Balkan-born musicians meet without borders, even in times of strife. In recent years, many master singers and instrumentalists from the Balkans have joined our staffs and found a loving audience, devoted students and new colleagues. And events like the kids' kafana at the East Coast workshop and the junior brass bands at both workshops show what happens when children live amid the raucous joy of Balkan camp.
Workshop attendees take what they learn back to their communities and teach others, expanding the reach of EEFC's work. Dances done and tunes played all over the country have been introduced at our Workshops. World-class musicians featured on our staffs make tours throughout the U.S. and Canada playing concerts and giving lessons.
The EEFC Forum discussion group, maintained by volunteers, has hundreds of subscribers. Here community members can find out about local Balkan events, announce events of their own, track down music and song translations, and participate in wide-ranging discussions on issues relating to the Balkans and Balkan culture.
Culture, Community, and Kef (Elevated Good Feeling)--these words sum up what the East European Folklife Center is about. Given all that we are going through as a nation and as a planet, all that we know about the need for community and cross-cultural understanding, surely the EEFC speaks to the very heart of our time. Please support the EEFC and its programs generously.
Thank you for keeping the music flowing!