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Workshops

At The Cat and The Fiddle, we try to make the most of every opportunity possible, in order to learn and grow in your knowledge of music, arts and dance. Our workshops allow students to dip their toes into all types of folklife activities and try out new art forms for themselves. Some, but not all of the workshops offered at The Cat and The Fiddle include instrument workshops (fiddle, banjo, guitar etc.), building workshops (learn to build a canjo!) and dance workshops (flatfooting, square dancing calling).

Workshops at The Cat and The Fiddle:

Sewing Workshop with Virginia Ballard

CALLING ALL SEWISTS!! Begin honing your craft with a custom workshop around the fundamentals of sewing machine usage and care along with basic patterning. By the end of this work shop you will have developed and utilized your newly minted sewing experience to create a simple pillow and maybe design a custom outfit for The Cat of The Cat and The Fiddle, Mr. Cesario himself. All required tools and materials will be provided.

Students will be able to expand on these foundational techniques to make clothes for the dolls, pets or even people in their life!

This workshop will take place twice on on Saturday, December 13th at The Cat and The Fiddle:

9AM to 12PM - Morning Class for Ages 6-17

2PM to 5PM - Afternoon Class for Adults

Addmission: $75 per student, with a $5 discount for siblings. Pay online through TicketTailor or in person at The Cat and The Fiddle.

Class limit of 10 students per workshop.

Purchase Workshop Ticket Online HERE

Special Events Around Town:
The following workshops are held in collaboration with Cacapon Music and Dance Foundation

Rhythm & Repertoire with

Adam Hurt and Beth Hartness

Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025

Time: 1-3PM

Suggested Donation: $20-30

Location: Capon Bridge Volunteer Fire Hall 2766 Northwestern Pike, Capon Bridge, WV 26711

Pre-registration is not required for this event, but if you plan to come please rsvp by emailing cacaponmusicanddancefoundation@gmail.com so we can get a head count.

This workshop is in connection with the Capon Bridge Square Dance.

Players of any of the traditional old-time instruments--fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and more--will be guided as a group by Adam's fiddle and Beth's guitar through a selection of interesting tunes, with melodic, structural, and chordal details emphasized. While instrument-specific technical instruction will not be provided, we will present the tunes on fiddle and guitar at manageable tempos for on-the-fly learning, suggest appropriate chord progressions, and encourage questions and discussion throughout the class. Participants can expect to come away with new repertoire to make their own as well as a heightened understanding of how to analyze fiddle tunes for clearer learning in the future. The use of recording devices is strongly recommended so that the class material can continue to be finessed at home.

Suggested Donation: $20-30

About the instructors:

Prize-winning musicians Adam Hurt and Beth Williams Hartness perform duets of traditional music from the Appalachian south and elsewhere with clawhammer banjo, fiddle, fingerstyle guitar, and vocals. Their engaging program will appeal to players and fans of old-time music as well as those who may be getting their very first taste of this captivating genre.

Deemed a "banjo virtuoso" by the Washington Post, Adam Hurt has fused several traditional old-time idioms to create his own elegantly innovative clawhammer banjo style, having been introduced to the instrument at age eleven in his native Minnesota. A respected performer and teacher of traditional music, Adam has played at the Kennedy Center and conducted banjo workshops at many venues around the country and abroad. Since moving south in 2002, Adam has placed in or won most of the major old-time banjo competitions, and he has claimed several state banjo and fiddle championships. Adam's music can be heard on multiple recordings.

Raised on a tobacco farm in Caswell County, North Carolina, Beth Williams Hartness began singing and taught herself to play the guitar at the age of twelve, influenced by her mother's passion for early 1960s folk music. Beth was first introduced to old-time music in the 1980s while living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and during this time she was a founding member of the Charlotte Folk Music Society, serving as vice president and festival organizer. Beth has been a member of numerous award-winning string bands, and she has won ribbons of her own in competitions for back-up guitar. Her playing is featured on several recordings.

More info at www.adamhurt.com

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