Renowned Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, together with musician members of his family, will be in residence at Big Springs Garden Retreat Center in Sierra City, California, October 23-25, 2026, for the debut of their new “Cup o´ Kindness” workshop weekend. The retreat takes its name from the lyrics of the Scottish song Auld Lang Syne, alluding to timeless friendships forged while engaged in nature. Whether musicians or simply music lovers, attendees may join scheduled workshops on Celtic and Castilian traditional music, tune-writing, singing, and rhythms. There will be beautifully prepared meals, a traditional ceilidh and informal jamming, along with time for crafts, walks and convivial conversation. Pre-registration (required for all participants by October 13) is available at www.cup-o-kindness.org.
Spaces in Big Springs cabin accommodations are expected to sell out. Attendees may bring their own gear for on-site camping, or lodge off-site. The event culminates with a public concert by the Alasdair Fraser Band in the meeting hall at Big Springs on Sunday afternoon concert on October 25, 2 pm. Tickets for the concert can be purchased in advance at www.alasdairfraser.com.
The weekend gathering will tap into the deep wellspring of traditional music at the heart of Alasdair Fraser´s career as a concert performer, recording artist, and founder/director of long-running summer music camps on three continents. A native of Scotland, and a resident of Nevada County, California, Fraser was recently awarded by the California Arts Council with a Legacy Artist Fellowship in honor of his decades-long commitment as a culture-bearer and mentor. He is launching two fresh projects this autumn — a new band as well as the October workshop weekend—that feature family collaboration. The Alasdair Fraser Band, which includes his sons, guitarist Cameron Fraser and Galen Fraser on violin, cittern and vocals, and daughter-in-law, Spanish singer-violinist-percussionist María San Miguel, embarks on an East Coast tour starting October 4. They return to northern California October 23-25 to host the “Cup o´ Kindness” weekend.
Alasdair Fraser is well-known for his fiery playing, and he says performing with his sons and daughter-in-law brings a new energy. “We have a certain family chemistry grounded in musical heritage, and then we add the spice of our individual journeys and blend with a shared spirit of adventure. There’s an element of the unexpected, of being alive in the moment, and sheer joy, in playing together.”
“A ´Cup o´ Kindness´ conjures up a sense of mutual support,” says Sally Ashcraft, Alasdair´s wife and co-producer of the new retreat, “that’s been central to the camps and workshops Alasdair and I have had a role in for the past 40-plus years. Starting a new event wasn’t really in the plans, but the peace, beauty, and creative vision of the Big Springs Garden Retreat Center simply called to us. We spent just a bit of time there last year, in late October, and came away feeling restored and recharged. It’s a Sierra Nevada treasure!”
For more information on the retreat go to www.cup-o-kindness.org. Via phone, call 530/913 8291. For details on upcoming Alasdair Fraser Band performances, go to www.alasdairfraser.com.