Shaniko Music Sanctuary Projects
Shaniko Music Sanctuary is proud to announce a new partnership with Outlaw Strings in Sisters, Oregon
Outlaw Strings fiddle program is composed of 50 middle-and-high school kids who meet before and after school to immerse themselves in bluegrass music. The few kiddos who could afford the trip to Wintergrass 2025 had an absolute blast jamming, performing and immersing thenmselves in bluegrass culture. We are collaborating with the Oregon Bluegrass Association to raise funds to double attendance of the Sisters, Oregon Strings Students this Winter!
In the name of the upcoming holidays, if you have the means to contribute a gift to expand support in our rural Oregon community, please click here to learn more. Legit: A five-dollar contribution from 100 people goes a long way out here!
A key part of the Shaniko Music Sanctuary mission is expanding access to instruments
Each year, the Jamboree runs an instrument donation drive, building a “lending library” of bluegrass instruments available to anyone with a Wasco County Library card.
Currently, a guitar and mandolin can be checked out from the South Wasco Library in Maupin, and the 2025 festival brought in eight additional instruments to grow the collection.
Shaniko Music Sanctuary is leading a growing movement to make music accessible across rural Central Oregon.
Since its inception, the Tygh Valley Bluegrass Jamboree — produced by Shaniko Music Sanctuary — has raised $5,900 for the South Wasco County Public School music program, helping sustain a full-time music director and a wide range of instruments and classes for students from pre-K through high school.
“We are one of the few small districts that still has a full-time music program,” says Marty Hansen, Music Director for South Wasco County Schools. “About 95% of our music program budget comes from Shaniko Music Sanctuary. These funds allow us to keep expanding — from ukuleles and guitars to a brand-new concert keyboard and even DJ equipment for our high school students.”
The sense of camaraderie stretches beyond the festival grounds with local sponsorships helping make it all possible. The Balch Hotel, Maupin Market, Shaniko Gas Station, Tamarack Sheds, Jack’s Body Shop, Ed Staub, and Kephart Enterprises have all generously sponsored the mission and the festival.