Well, the date change puts it right smack in the middle of State testing, for me; however, with it being only an hour away instead of two, I might be able to make some of the nighttime festivities during the week.

Apparently, Chico State Park is undergoing some renovations that
will prevent the camp from being held there this year only.

$695 includes instruction, meals, etc., everything but lodging.

Man.. gotta say that it was a real bummer to read that yesterday. Staying there at Chicot and being right there with everything was huge for me. Very convenient and the immersion was awesome.

This move will work well for locals but for those of us who come from a long way away, it's problematic. The necessity to shuttle back and forth in particular is unfortunate.

What are the thoughts of others who have to travel from very far away?

John in Oregon

My wife Karen and I live in Seattle and have attended every Balfa Camp
since the beginning. We share your disapointment John, it is a big part
of our year. Having the camp in a park was great for us. We like to hike
around the Arboretum at Chicot or take a boat out on the lake when we
get overloaded on music. Hopefully, this will just be for one year,not
sure yet if we will be attending in 2014

Wow,I'm going to miss Chicot,so will they be going back to Chicot in 2015

Me too I'm disappointed. I was planning on going back, take two weeks and tag along the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Fest... That timing doesn't work anymore. As for the shuttling back and forth, some to Blue Moon and other to other motels, mmmm that will certainly kill a lot of the fun of all being on the same site, and worry free of any logistics whatsoever.... I hope they go back to Chicot!

Here's how I see it.
$ 695.00 for the Camp.
$ 600.00 for 5 nights in a decent hotel.
You're already up to $ 1,295.00, unless you find someone to help share the room cost. If it's you and your spouse, it's all on you.
You got to drive back and forth from your hotel, B&B, whatever, to the site, which equals more expense. And you're probably gonna eat breakfast somewhere besides the camp, especially if you are running late.
Don't try driving back to your hotel at 2:00AM after a jam with too many toddies under your belt. The Lafayette PD will have you rooming with Leroy and Bubba in the drunk tank.
If you feel like pulling a travel trailer, there are fairly inexpensive RV parks sort-off close by, but then you still gotta drive back and forth from the site. If you attended the FAeC this week, you realize that the traffic in Lafayette is a bear.
Vermillionville is right there at the airport and the Evangeline Freeway, so it's going to be noisy as Hell.
I am not going. There are too many good teaching musicians in Lafayette, like Mitch Reed and others, who will give you great lessons for a lot less than the cost of this camp, and you can go when you want to.
They could have found a better alternative.
JB

Lakeview park in Eunice would have been a nice alternative. Cabins for rent there as well

I totally agree, Lakeview Inn in Eunice would have been awesome but I doubt it would be big enough to accommodate 100+ people.

Does not sound so good as of yet. I was planning on coming back for my second Balfa camp. I hope it still makes sense.

Ron