Lark Traditional Arts (LTA) is a nonprofit formed in 2019, but the community of talent and spirit it supports has been growing for over 40 years in Mendocino and the Bay Area.
LTA began primarily to ensure the continuation of Lark Camp, an 8-day traditional music, song, and dance educational event held annually in the Mendocino Woodlands. Now, six years and one global pandemic later, LTA has carefully grown.
Besides our magical 8-day Lark Camp (held the week and weekends around August 1st every year), we host our annual Jug Handle Campout (early October) on the Mendocino Coast, and our online Virtual Lark (early February), a weekend of free live-streamed workshops and jams. We are also proud to offer our new “LTA Presents” education series, presenting year-round in-person workshops, sessions, and performances in the Bay Area and the Mendocino Coast.
Your Musical Journey, Your Way
We’re excited to help you create memories, learn skills, and take your musical abilities to the next level. Whether you’re a beginner looking to start learning traditional music, song, or dance, or a professional wanting to expand your creative toolkit, LTA has you covered with camps, workshops, jams, classes, and events led by culture-bearing instructors from around the world.
Lark Traditional Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 83-2424940)
Our Mission Statement:
“The mission of Lark Traditional Arts is to present, preserve, and promote traditional music, song, and dance by engaging culture-bearing artists and creating educational opportunities that bring communities together in our shared worlds of music.”
SAVE THE DATES:
LARK CAMP 2026: July 31st-Aug 8th
Registration opens mid-February. Please visit www.larkcamp.org for updated info.
Virtual Lark 2026 – February 20-22
Registration is OPEN!
Free online workshops, sessions, and connections.
Registration opens late-January.
Visit www.virtuallark.org for more details and updates.
LTA is excited to announce our partnership with the legendary roots music venue, The Freight!
Early Bird registration until 11:59 PM on March 31st! Register now to save.
GET ALL THE INFO YOU NEED HERE
The Freight x Lark Summer Music Camp is designed to strengthen foundational music and rhythm skills for youth aged 8-14 through hands-on experience in a range of global artistic traditions. Running from June 29 through July 3rd, the camp is anchored by daily harmonica lessons with the Bay Area’s King of Bollywood Blues, Aki Kumar. Campers will learn through Aki’s genre-bending lens that opens harmonica up to a world of new practices. In addition to daily harmonica and basic music theory lessons, students will receive global percussion instruction from a rotating cast of percussionists from Lark Camp and The Freight’s teams. Afternoons will be filled with movement and dance activities, building upon themes from the day’s lessons. Parents are able to opt-in to optional aftercare as needed.
Educational and Cultural Benefits
- Cross-cultural engagement: Students encounter diverse musical styles and movement traditions in a respectful and accurate format.
- Accessibility: Both the harmonica and hand drum enables meaningful music-making without significant cost or prior experience. Music Camp will give each camper a harmonica for free. Drums will be provided when possible, and The Freight x Lark Camp will let parents know if campers will need to bring additional drums.
- Holistic learning: Combining music, rhythm, and dance deepens comprehension, creativity, and personal expression.
- Community building: Daily collaborative instruction fosters teamwork, empathy, and shared artistic experiences.
- Artistic stewardship: The program aligns with Lark Camp and The Freight’s commitment to preserving, teaching, and honoring traditional art forms.
Additional Benefits
- Campers will have free attendance to Circlesongs with Bobby McFerrin and MOTION on the first day of camp.
- Campers will receive their own four-hole harmonica to use at camp and take home at the end of the week.
- Campers will receive tickets for themselves and one guardian to a show at The Freight during that week (show title TBD).
Lark Camp 2025 was an amazing, educational, party-filled fun time that was good for the soul! Thank you for a great time!
Lark Camp 2025 was wonderful. Thank you to all our campers, instructors, staff, and volunteers. Many a tune, many a dance, many a tasty morsel and jolly laugh were had. Here are but a few snippets of the 8-day festivities.
Worlds Of Music
For Lark Traditional Arts, “Worlds Of Music” refers to the diverse and rich musical traditions, songs, and dances from cultures across the globe. It highlights the unique contributions of different communities, blending various musical expressions into a global tapestry that celebrates the shared human experience through rhythm, melody, and movement.
Because, at the core of our work, lies the truism that “Music Connects Community”.
LTA UPCOMING EVENTS
| WHEN | WHAT | WHERE | LINK TO MORE INFO/TICKETS |
| Feb 20, 21, 22, 2026 | Virtual Lark | Online | LINK HERE registration opens late January, 2026 |
| June 29- July 3, 2026 | Freight X Lark Youth Music Camp | The Freight (Berkeley, CA) | LINK HERE registration now open Early Bird discount until March 31 |
| July 31- Aug 8, 2026 | LARK CAMP | Mendocino Woodlands, CA | LINK HERE registration opens mid-February, 2026 |
| Oct 2026 | Jug Handle Campout | Jug Handle Creek Farm and Nature Center Caspar, CA (Mendocino Coast) | LINK HERE registration opens late-Summer 2026 |
LTA ETSY STORE
for LTA and Lark Camp T-shirts, hats, merch, and more (https://www.etsy.com/shop/LarkTraditionalArts)
All sales go directly to LTA’s Educational Program, and support our vision of presenting, promoting, and preserving traditional music, arts, and dance from around the globe.