We are members of the Northern California folk music and dance community, all of us performers, teachers, students, and enthusiasts embracing countless musical styles and cultural traditions. We work together to present, preserve, and encourage wider participation in traditional music, song, dance, and performing arts.
While LTA is new as a nonprofit organization, many of us have known and worked together for over thirty years to keep traditional music, song, and dance thriving throughout California. This new organization allows us to bring new talents, new energy, and new ideas to our work – work we intend to continue long into the future.
LTA’s END OF YEAR 2024 Fundraising Drive: October 16th – Dec 16th, 2024
Attendance was slightly down at this year’s Lark Camp, and expenses were elevated in pace with general inflation and Consumer Index rates. LTA lost money on Lark Camp in 2024 (expect a community report on Lark Camp income and expenses before the end of the year).
2025 is a big year for our Lark community’s future, and we are excited and optimistic. In addition to taking measures to increase Camp attendance, dampen expenses, and increase Lark Camp’s visibility throughout California, we are officially launching our Educational Program’s first community outreach efforts by producing a handful of workshops, jam sessions, and performances around the Bay Area and Mendocino County. All of this is in-line with the trajectory of our 2025-2027 Strategic Plan.
In this light, please read this lovely FUNDRAISING APPEAL LETTER from LTA’s Board of Directors
Born in the woods and raised by musicians, dancers, singers, poets, and playwrights, Lark Traditional Arts (LTA) has completed yet another transition, forming into a collaborative non-profit. Growing from the early days of Golden Toad gatherings, through decades of Lark in the Morning Camps at the Mendocino Woodlands produced by Mickie Zekley and friends, LTA is still led by artists committed to “creating educational events and assets that bring people together through traditional song, music, and dance.”
SInce LTA started, we have produced three Lark Camps at the Mendocino Woodlands, five Virtual Lark Camps online, our COVID-era online Lark Cabaret, and three smaller, cost-friendly Jughandle Campouts on the Mendocino coast. Further, LTA offers affiliate support to Lark in Ennis (in Ireland) and Occidental World Music Day (in Occidental, CA). We dream of increasing our partnerships with these organizations, and building even more relationships to bring traditional music and arts to schools, public venues, places of healing, festivals, and more, all around California.
We hope to create new forums – and use new technology – to make traditional arts more accessible to everyone. And, this dream is possible. We have done things like this before. But we need your help to build the sustainability of our new outreach and education efforts. We need things like recording equipment for virtual events, resources for artists, skills training for event staff, maybe a documentary about Lark Camp’s upcoming 50th anniversary…
The great news is that we have a plan of action and the friends to help us carry it out. Still, we need your help with this important work. Please help us build Lark Traditional Arts by making your tax-deductible donation RIGHT NOW — and then get ready for a whole new year of traditional music, song, and dance in 2025!
For the Arts,
LTA Board of Directors
P.S. We have set a goal of raising $20,000 by the end of 2024. Each board member is making a significant personal gift – and we hope that you will join us. Your support will make all the difference.
Our mission statement reads as follows:
“Lark Traditional Arts is dedicated to creating educational events and assets that bring people together through traditional song, music, dance, and arts.”
Lark Traditional Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 83-2424940)
LARK CAMP 2025: Aug 1st-9th
Lark Camp (established in 1980) is our family friendly Summer event where musicians, singers, and dancers learn traditional styles from all over the world.
CLICK HERE to learn more!
A small taste of the one-of-a-kind experience of Lark Camp, our shared happy place deep in the Mendocino redwoods. Once you experience it, you understand why our campers call it “Home.”
Join us for LTA’s FIRST ANUAL COMMUNITY CONCERT
March 22nd — Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center — Berkeley, CA
We are excited to present our first ever Fundraising Community Concert — it’s going to be quite a day. Starting with MUSIC WORKSHOPS, DANCE LESSONS, AND ARTIST-LED TUNE SESSIONS. In the evening, we’ll offer TWO AMAZING BANDS to leave you singing, swooning, and Balkan Dancing!
We can’t wait to tell you more. DETAILS COMING SOON!!