May 10, 2007
Country dancing, anyone? Arts and crafts? Two low-cost summer vacations are open to early-birds
A handful of summer vacations deserve to be called "classics" -- and that's the case with a week or two devoted to learning a craft at North Carolina's renowned Penland School, or a week or so of ethnic or country dancing in Pinewoods, Massachusetts. Both of these reasonably priced programs are so popular they always sell out by early May. Be warned.
Country dancing at Pinewoods, Massachusetts costs as little as $795 for an all-inclusive (accommodations, meals, instruction) week. Every year from July 14 until September 1, the 91-year-old Country Dance and Song Society operates its main summer camp in the eastern U.S. at the 25-acre Pinewoods near Plymouth. There you can wallow in traditional (mostly American and British) music and moves, past and present -- from the ancient lute to the Delta banjo, and from medieval English minuets to the Virginia reel. For $795 (with discounts for kids), the week-long programs put you up in rustic but well maintained cabins, feed you all meals, and cover all program fees (there's tennis and swimming, too). Get details at tel. 413/268-7426 or www.cdss.org.
Perhaps even more popular is arts and crafts instruction at Penland: $818 brings you a full week at this famed school for working with your hands in western North Carolina. The 80-year-old institution is currently teaching one- to eight-week courses covering the likes of glassblowing, drawing, weaving, jewelry making, photography and manuscript illumination. Tuition in summer (through August 31, after which only eight-week courses are available) is $397 a week; add three solid meals a day and dorm-style accommodations, and your total outlay (tuition, room and board) will average $818 per week. Send your inquiries to tel. 828/765-2359 or www.penland.org.
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Country dancing at Pinewoods, Massachusetts costs as little as $795 for an all-inclusive (accommodations, meals, instruction) week. Every year from July 14 until September 1, the 91-year-old Country Dance and Song Society operates its main summer camp in the eastern U.S. at the 25-acre Pinewoods near Plymouth. There you can wallow in traditional (mostly American and British) music and moves, past and present -- from the ancient lute to the Delta banjo, and from medieval English minuets to the Virginia reel. For $795 (with discounts for kids), the week-long programs put you up in rustic but well maintained cabins, feed you all meals, and cover all program fees (there's tennis and swimming, too). Get details at tel. 413/268-7426 or www.cdss.org.
Perhaps even more popular is arts and crafts instruction at Penland: $818 brings you a full week at this famed school for working with your hands in western North Carolina. The 80-year-old institution is currently teaching one- to eight-week courses covering the likes of glassblowing, drawing, weaving, jewelry making, photography and manuscript illumination. Tuition in summer (through August 31, after which only eight-week courses are available) is $397 a week; add three solid meals a day and dorm-style accommodations, and your total outlay (tuition, room and board) will average $818 per week. Send your inquiries to tel. 828/765-2359 or www.penland.org.
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Labels: arts, massachusetts, north carolina, summer vacation, workshops
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
