Dane­bod Folk Camp (“DAHN-a-bo,” or “DAN-a-bo,” either way’s OK) is an annual gath­er­ing of friends, families, and friends-to-be that takes place at the Dane­bod Folk School campus in Tyler, Minnesota.

To get better acquainted with the soul of Danebod Folk Camp, you might want to look at some of the photos of life during Danebod week, take a look at a typical week’s schedule, and (especially) see what we have posted about our upcoming camp session.  (Some of these links won’t work until Erik posts  the content they will point to!)

How did this come to be?

The camp has its roots in a folk school philosophy embracing informal, lifelong education that was developed and championed by N.F.S. Grundtvig, a nineteenth century Danish philosopher/poet/clergyman. Soon after arriving, the Danes who settled Tyler built a three-story folk school and dormitory to promote this “living for learning” philosophy and to encourage the development of thoughtful and enlightened citizens.

In August 1947, the folk school building began serving as the venue for an annual, week-long retreat that promoted the activities and philosophical underpinnings of the folk school movement,  where fam­i­lies and friends, young and old, could exchange their regular routines for a week of singing, dancing, exchanging ideas, teaching, learning new skills, and of course… letting Danebod’s talented kitchen staff do the cooking for a week!

The camp grew year after year, adding a second session starting in June 1971, and a third session starting July 1981. The June and July camps continue to prosper under the direction of the Dane­bod Fam­ily Camp board, while August camp is guided by our Dane­bod Folk Camp board. These boards work together with Tyler’s Danebod Folk School board to set the direc­tion of the Dane­bod camp experience.