• First Ever Cascadia Mandolin-Guitar Festival to be held in Astoria, Oregon

    Rehearse-study-jam-perform at the Pacific Northwest's only mandolin-guitar ensemble festival. Or just hear the concerts in fabulous Astoria!
    Cascadia Mandolin-Guitar Festival Faculty

    ASTORIA, ORE. — The First Annual Cascadia Mandolin-Guitar Festival will be held here June 8-11, 2023 and will feature a world-class lineup of faculty performers, under the direction of veteran mandolinist/conductor August Watters.

    Tickets are now available for weekend participants, as well as for two public concerts, to be presented at Astoria's Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts.

    The Festival Opening Concert, June 9, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. will feature the Oregon Mandolin Orchestra, under the baton of Christian McKee, along with festival faculty performers. The Closing Festival Concert, on Sunday, June 11, at 3:00 p.m. will feature festival participants and faculty.

    Faculty include Ekaterina Skliar, Alexey Alexandrov, and Tim Connell, in addition to festival director August Watters. Classical guitarist Celeste McClain will lead the guitar section, and more faculty will be announced as the schedule develops.

    Registration is now open for fretted instrument players wishing to join weekend rehearsals, workshops, and performances. Concert tickets for general audience members are also available on Eventbrite.

    The main festival events will begin for weekend participants with Thursday evening, June 8 rehearsals. Additionally, there will be Thursday morning pre-festival events available, including private mandolin/guitar lessons, master classes, and additional workshops. Pre-festival events may require additional fees.

    Additional Information


    Festival Schedule
    Comments 3 Comments
    1. Jeff Hildreth's Avatar
      Jeff Hildreth -
      Excellent line-up of instructors..headliners.
    1. Jim Imhoff's Avatar
      Jim Imhoff -
      Looking forward to this, and bringing my copy of August's Progressive Melodies for Mandocello.
      jim
    1. August Watters's Avatar
      August Watters -
      Quote Originally Posted by Jim Imhoff View Post
      Looking forward to this, and bringing my copy of August's Progressive Melodies for Mandocello.
      jim
      Yay! I'm looking forward to working with mandocello players who have been working through the book, and also see what I can learn from them about their process! I'm expecting players with a whole range of experiences, so it's also fine to use the master class as a starting point, if you're new. For sure it will be a good opportunity to get an overview of my approach to mandocello.