Every Father's Day weekend for the past ten years, Cajun and Zydeco dancers have been making their way into the mountains of West Virginia [about 1.5 hours drive from metro Washington, D.C.] for the annual Buffalo Jambalaya Dance Camp. Nestled in a high valley flanked by mountains, the Buffalo Gap Community Camp is an idyllic, peaceful setting. The camp consists of several rustic cabins scattered across the hillside, loosely clustered around a central dining hall. But the real heart and soul of the place is the magnificent dance pavilion in the center of the camp.

The roof of the building soars high above the huge, hand-hewn log supports. The post-and-beam construction leaves the sides wide open; the combination of the high roof and open sides gives the feel of the outdoors, yet it is still totally protected from the weather. And then there's the floor -- the best dance floor I've ever been on -- a smooth expanse of hardwood that can accommodate nearly 300+ dancers at once. At night, with the pavilion lit, the beams in the trusses above resemble spokes radiating in a series of wheels. With the music pumping and dancers swirling around the floor, it is a sight to see as you approach from below.

And then there's the music -- four days of live music in the pavilion. Friday and Saturday both have live music beginning at 3 PM and running until midnight, with a dinner break. Thursday and Sunday each have a four hour dance. This year, there were three featured bands -- Keith Frank & The Soileau Zydeco Band (as part of their initial tour outside of Louisiana), New Orleans' best Cajun outfit, the Bruce Daigrepont Band, and the irrepressible Willis Prudhomme from Kinder LA, backed by DC area favorites Zydeco Crayz. Willis and the Crayz filled the Friday and Saturday afternoon slots, while Keith Frank and Bruce Daigrepont alternated sets at the other times.

Keith Frank's set Thursday night featured Kurt Kratch of Zydeco Crayz ably filling in on bass; regular bassist Jennifer Frank arrived Friday morning. Keith led his Soileau Zydeco band through a set of largely familiar, well-known Creole standards, interspersed with a few of his own well-known tunes. On Friday, with sister Jennifer back in the fold, Keith was noticeably more relaxed. By Saturday night, when he announced that he was going to play just as if he was at home, the band's monster dance grooves were unstoppable. The songs flowed together seamlessly, with no, or almost no, break in between. Playful snippets of familiar pop tunes or TV themes were tossed out over the deep rhythm grooves ably supplied by Brad (drums) and Jennifer Frank, while George Lee funked it up on rhythm guitar. Keith demonstrated his mastery of various instruments, playing single and triple row accordions, and taking over on lead guitar for some Blues and R&B standards. Back on accordion, he led the band to an inspired crescendo. Brilliant song selection, pacing, humor and energy came together for almost two hours of Zydeco bliss. On Sunday, Keith announced that he would play tunes from earlier in his career, and that he did. Favorites from his first Maison de Soul disc such as "Silly Puddin" and "What's His Name" filled the first part of the set. He then set off on a tour-de-force of instrumental ability as he switched from accordion, to guitar, to bass, to rubboard, before finally ending up on the drums, with brother Brad out front on accordion for a couple of tunes from his own CD, "Walking On The Moon". Keith then took back the accordion and brought things to a roaring climax, playing well past the 4 PM end-of-set time.

Bruce Daigrepont has brought his highly original style of Cajun music to Buffalo Gap several times in the past. The band is guitar-less, an anomaly in the world of C/Z, freeing the accordion and fiddle to occupy spaces normally filled by the guitar, or to just leave the space empty, allowing breathing room for the rhythm section. Bruce is one of the few prolific songwriters working in the Cajun tradition today; his sets feature many traditional numbers, but most of his material is original. Fiddler Gina Forsyth has worked with Bruce for many years, which shows in the expert blending of intricate accordion and fiddle lines at breakneck tempos. Bruce is also gifted with one of the finest singing voices in contemporary Cajun music (although by Sunday his voice was so tired he could hardly sing, deferring to Gina on many tunes). Bruce delivered set after set of brisk two-steps, beautiful waltzes, a couple of Zydeco numbers, along with some Swamp Pop ballads, all delivered in Cajun French with precision and polish.

Willis Prudhomme is at this point the Grand Old Man of Zydeco, but you would never know it to look at him. His frame, energy and demeanor belie his seventy-plus years. Willis brings a special spirit wherever he goes, seeming genuinely happy to be sharing both himself and his music. Willis was ably backed by Zydeco Crayz for two sets, but his influence pervaded the weekend. He seemed to be everywhere, acting as MC for Bruce and Keith, lending his voice to the late-night jams (more on that in a minute), conducting accordion workshops, and even putting on a cooking workshop that by all accounts produced not only some great tasting catfish, but over an hour of personal anecdotes about growing up in Louisiana over 50 years ago. Willis capped his last set by bringing New York's new accordion star L'il Anne up for an accordion duet on Willis' evergreen "Speed Bump", and left the crowd wanting more of his no-nonsense, old-school traditional Zydeco.

Buffalo Jambalaya weekend has plenty of open dancing, but that's not all. There are morning and afternoon dance workshops both Friday and Saturday. Zydeco instructors Ben Pagac and Debbie Shaw covered beginner, intermediate, and advanced steps both days, introducing new material each day. Award winning dancers Chris Trahan and Janine Dugas led the Cajun workshops. The only complaint here is that there's just not enough time to attend both! The instrument workshops included accordion classes with Bruce Daigrepont, Willis Prudhomme and Brad Frank, and fiddle with Gina Forsyth. Bruce & Gina also conducted a vocals workshop. Sound was excellent -- crisp, clear, and loud without being overbearing.

When the music stops at midnight at the pavilion, first there's a midnight snack in the dining hall, and then acoustic midnight jam sessions. On Saturday night, the jam was held on the large porch of the beach house, with a bonfire burning brightly on the nearby shore. I had the pleasure and opportunity of playing in a jam with Keith Frank and Bruce Daigrepont on accordions, Gina Forsyth on fiddle, an un-named fiddler and guitarist (sorry, I didn't get your names), along with Brad Frank on assorted percussion, and Willis singing, occasionally grabbing an accordion, and generally egging everybody on until 3 AM!

One of the great features of the weekend is the meals that are included in the event price. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served family style in the dining hall, along with a midnight snack each night. Chef Debby McClatchy and crew created some excellent meals, with a definite slant towards the low-fat, health-conscious style of cooking, although hot dogs were provided each day at lunch for the less adventurous. Each meal included a Vegetarian option as well (including a great Vegetarian gumbo for the Saturday midnight snack).

Although I had heard about Buffalo Jambalaya for many years, this was my first time there. It is a truly great C/Z event -- the caliber of the music, the fantastic dance pavilion, the food, the camp itself, with its encircling mountains, and the people all come together for a unique C/Z experience. Lest I forget, attendance is limited to less than 300 full time campers, so it is truly an intimate musical experience. Campers come from far and wide -- I met people from CA, FL, CO, MA, CT, NY, PA, RI as well as plenty from the Baltimore/DC area. I look forward to next year -- you should, too.