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The Living Tradition Home Page
What is The Living Tradition?
The Living Tradition is a non-profit organization working to support and preserve traditional music and dance in Southern California. We host contra dances and contemporary and traditional folk music concerts at the beautiful Anaheim Downtown Community Center at 250 E. Center St., in Anaheim, California. We also host traditional music jams. Jams are now held as SPECIAL EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. The location will be specified for each jam.
All of our events are
family-friendly and are open to the public. Admission
prices for dances and concerts are modest, and children
under 18 years are free with a paid adult. We ask for
a
contribution of $3 to
$5 per person at our music jams to defray rental
costs. Bring your friends, make new
friends, get some exercise (dancing), or just relax and
enjoy traditional American music.
Our Concerts
The Living Tradition
concert series presents international and local artisans of
contemporary and traditional folk music for a modest cost in
an intimate setting. Our Covid policies are listed
below. Usually the recommended donation is
$20
per person ($15 with the Living Tradition
membership). Here are some of our scheduled concerts, which start at 7:30 PM in Anaheim:
Concert r
Click here
to see additional
concert information.
Our contra dances allow
folks of all ages to dance to live music and enjoy
easy-to-learn traditional dance - without a partner.
Usually the recommended donation is
May 20, 2023
The fabulous duo Mike Mullins and Tom Corbett.
June 24, 2023
The talented singer and multi-instrumentalist
Bill Dempsey.
July 2023
No concert this month.
Aug. 2023
No concert this month.
Our Dances
Note: Attendees of our dances must be fully vaccinated and boosted and must wear KN95 or better masks while inside the dance hall. See our Covid-19 policies below for additional details.
| May 27, 2023 | Caller: Lindsay Verbil. Band: Jeff Spero, Kira Ott, and Liam Lewis. |
| June 24, 2023 | Caller: Chris Page. Band: The Moonlighters Trio consists of Evan Anderson (on bass, mandolin, and vocals), Patty McCollom (on banjo, fiddle, tinwhistle, and vocals), and Barbara Whitney (on fiddle, banjo, and vocals). |
| July 22, 2023 | Caller: Frannie Marr. Band: Arroyo Seco String Band. |
Click here to see additional information about our dances.
Our Jams
Our traditional music jams bring musicians (and singers) together in a relaxed atmosphere where all levels and talents are welcome, including those who simply want to hear traditional music or song.
Important Change: Jams are now held as SPECIAL EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, and the location and time will be specified for each jam. See our schedule below.
Our Covid policies are listed below.
May 2023
No jam this month.
June 2023
No jam this month.
July 15, 2023
At the
Anaheim Downtown Community Center, 6
PM
- 9
PM.
Aug 19, 2023
At the
Anaheim Downtown Community Center, 6
PM
- 9
PM.
Our schedules are subject to change.
Our Covid-19 protocols are intended to protect the health and safety of our community.
Our concerts and jams now follow the same Covid protocols as neighboring organizations that offer similar events. While we strongly recommend that attendees wear masks at our jams and concerts, we now state that masks are optional for these two events.
Our dances continue to require that every attendee have a full Covid vaccination and booster and wear a KN95 or better mask while in the hall. We set these stricter Covid protocols due to the close proximity of the dancers to each other and the active nature of contra dancing. Specifically, attendees of our dances must:
- Be free of key Covid-19 symptoms. Click here to view the CDC list of these symptoms.
- Wear either an N95, KN95, or KF94 mask that covers the nose, mouth, and chin. Cloth or surgical masks alone will not be considered sufficient protection. The mask must be worn at all times when indoors.
- Present proof of full Covid vaccination and booster.
Our Covid protocols at dances are consistent with the
protocols of neighboring contra dance organizations.
Special Events
The Living Tradition also supports a variety of special events. See Special Events for more information.
General Questions
for The Living Tradition
If you have questions about The Living Tradition, contact the President, Patty McCollom at pattymccollom96@gmail.com. To view additional contact links for the The Living Tradition, click Contact Us.
Membership: Why
Join The Living Tradition?
Members of The Living Tradition enjoy and preserve traditional music and dance in Southern California. Benefits of membership also include discounts for most of our concerts and dances. To become a member, simply print and complete the membership form, then mail the completed form and a check for membership dues to the address listed on the form. (Note that this form is a PDF file; viewing or printing it requires Acrobat Reader to be installed on your computer.)
Thank you for your
support.
More About The Living Tradition
Founded in 1982 by Carolyn Russell, The Living Tradition is a group of people bound together by the desire to share traditional music and dance. The Living Tradition brings us a sampling of today’s brightest traditional music entertainers, provides family-friendly, community-oriented contra dances, and hosts popular monthly jams.
Go to Our History page to read A Brief History of The Living Tradition written by Patty McCollom, and to view a transcription (PDF file) of James Hutson's 1995 interview with Carolyn Russell.
Our contra dances provide an evening of fun – without a partner or formal instruction. These dances are fun, good exercise, and build a sense of community with other contra dancers. Many fine bands have graced our dances, and well-known dance “callers” provide lively prompting. Bring your friends, make new friends, get some exercise, or just enjoy the lively sounds of traditional music. Our dances are beginner-friendly because each evening begins with a group lesson, and the actual dances are explained and prompted by the “caller”.
The Living Tradition concert series presents international and local artisans of contemporary and traditional folk music nearly every month in the beautiful Anaheim Downtown Community Center. These intimate concerts are reasonably priced and a great way to get together with friends or meet new friends.
We also sponsor regularly scheduled music jams to provide a forum for those who play an acoustical instrument, sing, or simply enjoy listening to traditional music and song. Our jams are open to all levels and talents, and offer an opportunity for anyone who loves traditional music to participate in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Living Tradition is all of this and more. We serve as a catalyst for the preservation and promotion of traditional music and dance and ensure that traditional music, dance, and song will thrive for years to come.
To see this article about The Living Tradition, with more details
about our history and concert series, go to the
January
/ February 2001 issue of the FolkWorks
newspaper and scroll down to page 13.
Special Thanks Go To . . .
The Living Tradition extends sincere thanks to John Davidheiser for designing and implementing the original format of The Living Tradition Web site.
Thanks also go to Tim Steinmeier, who designed The Living Tradition logo.
“A Bit More About Us” was written by Ellen Swope (and updated by Mindy Belli).
Visit
The Living Tradition on Facebook.