As we move into February, we are now past Mid-Winter Festival. I hope everyone had a lot of fun! I sure did.
We have a lot to look forward to this month and this year. February has Super Bowl for those who actually watch and follow football (sorry – I really don’t pay any attention to football at any level); Valentine’s Day, which falls on a Friday this year – so take your sweetheart out to a square dance; and this is a Leap Year!
There are a lot of festivals and special dances throughout the year. Keep a watch for flyers and information on bulletin boards, at dances and especially on our Oregon Federation website. Make sure you are passing information along to our newer dancers and encourage them to explore the Federation website and OFN.
Hope to see you at a dance soon.
Karyn Buchheit
Oregon's square and round dance community lost quite a few prominent members in the last few weeks. Remember to cherish the friends you have now. Life is fleeting.
Click here to find out how to get your information into the OFN, including dances, lessons, photos, flyers, advertisements, and caller/cuer information.
We have set up an email mailing list to notify people when a new edition of the online OFN is available, and for other important news about the OFN. To subscribe to this mailing list, just fill out this information:
Because of a host of unexpected complications, we do not have full biographics for the 2020 Randall Award nominations. The nominees this year are:
We will update this notice after Mid-Winter to include the awardee.
The next Federation meeting will be at Mid-Winter Festival, on January 26, 2020.
Oregon's Mid-Winter Festival 2020 will be held January 24, 25 and 26, 2020, at the Linn County Fairgrounds in Albany.
We hope you are planning to attend the 2020 Summer Festival, to be held at the Seaside Convention Center in Seaside on August 21-23, 2020. This festival is sponsored by the Eager Beavers and the Hoedowners.
The 69th National Square Dance Convention® will be held in nearby Spokane, Washington, June 18-21, 2020. The 70th National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Jackson, Mississippi, June 23-26, 2021.
All clubs in the Oregon Federation are required to maintain their status as non-profit corporations with the State of Oregon. The Secretary of State's office mails out a renewal notice about a month before your registration expires every year. The following clubs expire this month:
February 1 -- Emerald Empire Council
February 7 -- Klamath Country Squares
February 26 -- Tualatin Valley Council
Download a complete list of the Federation club dances this month, all sorted by date and city.
Everything in the When & Where is extracted from the state directory information. If you find that your club information is wrong, you can fix that by going to the directory information area and fixing your data.
Click on the title to see the article.
We would like to thank everyone in our square dance family for making a HUGE difference after the tragedy of losing almost everything we owned in our house fire. On December 24th we came home from church to find our house on fire. Long story short, we lost almost everything including our 4 pets: Pepé my 14-year-old long-hair chihuahua, Jasepi our rescue cat from Louisiana (he survived Hurricane Katrina), Nola— Lily’s cat, and Smokey— Blake’s Chinchilla. We are finding a few little things as we sift through the remains left after the fire.
We are still living in Grants Pass. We are recovering slowly thanks to our church coming to the rescue that evening and bringing each of us a change of clothing and some basic essentials, athletic coaches and team providing Gabriel and Lily with clothes to continue in sports, my RCC co-workers are helping me with needed items for work, and our square dance family for giving, and giving, and giving. So many have been generous to provide for us to start over again. Lily and I are blessed with square dance skirts, blouses, petticoats, and pettipants, Gabriel and Blake now have dance towels, shirts, ties, and club vest, We all have badges to wear at MidWinter. And, we have been given bedding, quilts, clothes, and household items for our new home.
Gift cards have allowed me to replace items in the kitchen to cook, laundry items, and all those little things you don’t think about until you go to get it and realize you don’t have it anymore. Not to mention all the help to get clothes, toiletries, and shoes for all 5 grandchildren and myself. Thank you does not seem like enough to my square dance family for your generosity from California, Carson City, Northern Oregon, and close to home. The response to help this family has made a significant difference for each of us, the outpouring of love and kindness fills our hearts. I Pray I can repay everything forward when we get back on our feet. This family is blessed to have so many caring people we call family.
The fire is still under investigation, we know the fire was NOT caused by anything we did. It’s now a battle for Fire investigators to prove, that should be complete around January 29th, I hope. We cannot proceed with tearing down the old and rebuilding the new until the investigation is complete. But, we will rebuild, we will be continuing to square dance, we are back to school and work. Thanks to everyone’s generosity we were able to return to work and school without missing a day. We will see you at MidWinter wearing square dance attire. We arrive late Thursday night.
Love, Hugs, and Prayers to you,
Lorri, Blake, Gabriel, Lily, Junior, and Sammy
Kenneth Eugene Pratt was born on December 27, 1951 in Hillsboro, Oregon, the oldest child of Glenn Eugene Pratt and Dorothy June Inkley Pratt. He attended schools in Reedville and Aloha and graduated from Aloha High School in 1970.As a child he enjoyed camping and water skiing with his family. He and his siblings learned to square dance with the Lads and Plaids in Banks, and Ken round danced with his mother in the 1960’s.
After graduation he joined the Navy and was stationed for a time in San Diego, and then shipped out to Hawaii. The remainder of his 4 years of service was spent on a supply ship off the coast of Vietnam. He achieved the rank of Boatswain’s Mate 3.
Ken married Trudy Faubion in 1976 in Gresham, and they had two children. They later divorced. During those years he lived in Aloha, Lincoln City, Kennewick, Gresham and Portland He worked at Tube Forgings of America and in pest and weed control, and later went back to school for training as a computer programmer. He graduated from Computer Career Institute in 1984 and worked as an AS400 mainframe computer programmer for 15 years.
He returned to square and round dancing in the early 1990’s, where he met Dianne Demmin Johnston. They were married at Kinton Grange in Beaverton on June 29, 1997. Ken and Dianne danced up through Phase 6 rounds. In 2003 Ken was encouraged by several round dance leaders to become a cuer. He learned quickly, and was very successful, since he was a “natural” at timing. Ken and Dianne have taught all phases of rounds, at various times, at Kinton Grange, Oak Grove Community Center, Salem Square Dance Center, Sunset Promenaders in Hillsboro, and in Bend. For a time they led a high level round dance club, called Razz-Ma-Tazz Rounders. Ken loved teaching and was always encouraged the dancers to go on to higher levels. He cued for many of the local square dance clubs, but Sunset Promenaders and Promenaders Plus were his home clubs. He was vice president of ORDTA (Oregon Round Dance Teachers Association).
In 2016, Ken built a 17’ diameter Koi pond in their backyard, and continued to work on “pond projects” every summer. He enjoyed watching the fish from our deck. He enjoyed classic cars, and owned a 1953 Buick Roadmaster. Recently Ken had taken up bowling again. He was on 3 leagues, averaged in the 180’s, and helped coach in the youth bowling program on Saturday mornings. Also, over the last several years, Ken and Dianne enjoyed travelling in their RV and visited a number of National Parks in the Southwest,California, Montana, and South Dakota.
Ken passed away early on the morning on New Year’s Day, 2020, of an apparent heart attack. He is survived by his wife Dianne of Hillsboro, his daughter, Stacey Arnold (Mike) of Farmington, New Mexico, his son, Jeff (Karie) of Jefferson, OR; and by his step-daughters, Annette Christensen (Robin) of Aloha, and Valerie White (Darrell) of Reedville. He was “Papa” or “Grandpa” to Kendra (Ryan), Elizabeth, Aidan, and Kaitlyn Pratt of Jefferson; Alan Christensen (MacKenzie) of Butte, Montana; Colin Christensen (Alicia) of Portland;Brittany White (Corey) of Salem; Emma House (Derek) of Hillsboro; Markus and Suzie Lane, and Lauren Gerhard of Reedville. He was Great Grandpa to Melodie. Also surviving are his brother Jim(Naomi) from Kennewick, and his sister Kim (Jody) from Eugene. He was predeceased by his parents and his brother Randy.
Ken will be greatly missed by his family, and by the entire Oregon Square and Round Dance community. A memorial dance will be held Sunday, February 9, 2 PM, at the Hillsboro Odd Fellows Hall.
November 7, 1942 - November 23, 2019
Jim was born on November 7, 1942, in Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Portland and joined the Navy after graduating from high school. He married his wife Kay in 1963. They were separated the end of 1970’s and remarried in 1984. Jim is survived by his wife Kay, 4 daughters, 9 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Jim and Kay joined all of their family this year in Seaside to celebrate Thanksgiving and their 56th wedding anniversary. Jim passed away on November 23, 2019, when his heart failed during their family vacation.
Jim and Kay Rogers have dedicated almost half of their life to the promotion of square dancing in Oregon and Washington. Separately and together they have held offices in their clubs, the TVC, the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs, and at the national level. In the 28 years Jim and Kay have been dancing, they made square dancing a priority in their lives. Following is a brief summary of some of the things they have done together and individually to promote and support square dancing.
Jim had a great sense of humor. He loved his family and he loved teasing Kay. He was usually quiet in public – but gave 110% support to Kay when she volunteered for another festival or convention driving Kay wherever she needed to go and helping her. He will be missed.
You can download this list of callers and cuers who are available and ready to call or cue a dance for you.
Callers:
Cuers:
The Portland Area Council has chosen the February 2020 Oregon Round of the Month: "My Boy Elvis", Phase II+2 Two Step (fishtail and strolling vine), choreographed by Regine Anderson, by Janis Martin. Download your cue sheet here.
For more information on the Round of the Month, please contact .
Everything in this section is taken from the state directory information. If you find that your class information is wrong, you can fix that by going to the directory information area and picking to the "Lessons" tab.
February 8 (2nd Sat)
February 22 (4th Sat)
February 9 (2nd Sun)
February 14 (2nd Fri)
February 22 (4th Sat)
February 22 (4th Sat)
February 28 (4th Fri)
February 29 (5th Sat)
March 14 (2nd Sat)
April 19 (3rd Sun)
May 22 (4th Fri)
June 6 (1st Sat)
June 7 (1st Sun)
July 22 (4th Wed)
August 7 (1st Fri)Click a thumbnail to download the flyer.
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February 14 (2nd Fri)
February 15 (3rd Sat)
February 28 (4th Fri)
Our next scheduled dance is Saturday, February 29 (Leap Year!) at the dance center in Springfield. The members of CCCA will call and cue a fun dance for you! The floor in our hall is cushioned and so nice to dance on. The Eugene Opera is using our facility that day but will be finished in time for our CCCA meeting and dance. Pre-Rounds start at 7:30 and squares are from 8:00 - 10:00. Put this on your new calendars!
We had about five squares for the New Year's Eve dance with Roger and Christina. Lots of pies and other foods, but the best part was dancing with all of our friends and bringing in 2020!
Keep on calling and cueing for fun,
Christina Corelli
We had a very nice turnout of two squares at our final dance of the year Sunday Dec. 22 when we danced to recorded tips. Our thanks to Fred and Kathleen Beise who coordinates our advanced program as well as the challenge classes being held currently at the Emerald Square Dance Center on the Sundays before our advanced dances and in Junction City on those Sundays when we don’t have an advanced dance scheduled. Fred always finds the best tips done by top-notch callers: Bronc Wise and Darryl Lipscomb being among our favorites.
If you wish to be placed on a notification email list, call Fred at 458-221-3564.
My apologies to all who may have tried to access our website using the URL I put in last month’s OFN. The correct URL is cas-sd.yolasite.com.
We are all looking forward to dancing to Dan Preedy (WA) on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 from 2-4PM. Please mark your calendar for this fun event.
Keep on learning and dancing.
Gaynor Hintz
At the end of the month on Dec. 27 K.C. Curtis and his wife Linda joined us along with cuer Judy Russell and her husband and caller Bruce Lowther for a fun time albeit a small crowd of dancers. Too close to Christmas and just before the big NYE bash. We will definitely go dark for the 4th Friday next December as it is Christmas Day! Since we did not have any non-plus dancers in attendance, K.C. and Bruce graciously agreed to call plus the whole evening which made it double the fun indeed. Thanks to both of them and also to Judy who filled in at the last minute for Jackie. We all enjoyed her cueing very much.
On New Year's Eve quite a few Single Trees came out to the hall to celebrate with Roger Putzler, Christina Corelli and many of our dancing friends, including Fred and Carol Muir from Roseburg. A fun time was had by all with party poppers, lots of pie and other goodies, and a toast with apple cider to ring in the new year.
See you in a square soon.
Gaynor Hintz
Kurt and Lorna are angels for our Challenge C- 1 class. There are many calls at C-1, but it's taking a long time as the class is Sundays and not everyone can be there, especially during the holidays. It's fun nonetheless. And yes, a challenge!
We dance almost every Sunday at the Emerald Dance Center in Springfield. 5:30 - 8:00. We dance all levels. Our caller, Tim Matteson, will adjust the levels according to who shows up to dance. It's always FUN, and we always have a lot of FOOD! We encourage all square dancers to join us! The floor is cushioned and comfortable! We even have heat and air conditioning!
Please call Tim at 541-988-0399 or David at 541-520-7311 to make sure we are dancing. We are dark once in a blue moon, but we'd hate to miss you.
Keep on dancing,
Christina Corelli
Hope everyone had a great holiday. Look forward to seeing some of you at Mid--Winter Festival.
Our 4th Saturday caller Lennie Ludiker will be cutting down some so when he is not available new caller Janet Geiger will call his dance.
Hope to see you at a Wolf Pack dance soon.
Sandy
February 15 (3rd Sat)
Carmen
February 15 (3rd Sat)
We now have our new officers taking over in the new year: Rolita LaForge, Vice President; Pam Secrest, Secretary; Miranda Mann, Treasurer; Cathy Drawson, Area Representative; and Mary Ellen Ramseyer continuing as our President.
Just to pass the word along in case anyone is looking for some, we have two Yamaha C115V Club Concert Series Passive 2-Way Speakers for sale. They were purchased in 2009 and only used on four occasions. They still work very well; we just no longer want to store them. We paid approximately $900 for the pair in 2009. They have recently been inspected by Joel from Apex Audio and Lighting (where they were purchased) and he said a reasonable price for both would be $500 but we are asking only $300 for the pair. If anyone is interested, contact Mary Ellen Ramseyer, our president, with questions or to purchase at 503-689-3733 (can also text this number) or email her at ramseyer_mary@hotmail.com.
Georganne Pfnister
February is very special for our club as it is the month of our Birthday Dance on February 22! We'll be dark on February 8 for the Sweet Home Birthday Dance.
Thanks to all who have hosted the New Dancers' dances; they've been a lot of fun!
We're looking forward to our club’s annual coast trip March 13-14 at Gleneden Beach Community Club, and all are welcome! We're dancing there both Friday and Saturday nights.
Karen
In January we learned that our annual December service project was a huge success. The proceeds from our successful Christmas Dance silent auction, which were donated to Windsor House, homes for brain injured adults, amounted to about $570, and we delivered over 50 cans of coffee. During December many IWW members daily set aside non-perishable food items as a Reverse Advent Calendar, which were then delivered the food to Windsor House to cap off our service project.
Come dance with us on the first and second Saturdays of each month at the Polk County Fairgrounds. Especially be sure that you mark your calendars for our special dances: February 8 “Mix it up” Dance; March 8 (Sunday) IWW 60th Birthday Dance. Looking ahead, our Mystery trip is on February 22, the Annual Koast Krash is April 24 – 26 (Yachats Inn. Theme: At the Hop), and our Polk County Fair fund raiser is August 6 - 8.
Dee Mackaman
February 8 (2nd Sat)
On January 4, our club had its Pajama Dance with lots of interesting sleep wear. Charlotte Jeskey was our caller and Jackie Gale was the cuer. There were prizes and our new dancers graduated during the evening.
January 19 was our 71st Birthday Dance with lots of prizes and strawberry shortcake was served at the break. We enjoyed seeing lots of our friends there to help us celebrate.
Many of our club members will attending the Mid Winter Festival and we will be dancing on the first and third Saturdays of February. See you in a square!
Marilyn York
February 15 (3rd Sat)
We send our healing thoughts to Dianne Pratt as she deals with the after effects of Ken’s passing and all that death entails. She has a large round dance family to be around her and keep her company.
We still dance on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Salem Square Dance Center. Come and join us.
Marilyn Schmit
There are three dances in January including a 5th Friday Plus Dance and of course we are looking forward to dancing and seeing everyone at Mid-Winter Festival. Come join us for our Annual Wear Red Dance the first Friday in February to call attention to heart disease. Then look for the flyer for our Annual Hobo Dance the third Friday in March.
Amidst all the celebration we are greatly saddened by the passing of Ken Pratt. He has been a great substitute Cuer for our club for many years. We will miss him immensely and our thoughts and prayers are with Dianne and their family. See you on the dance floor.
Sheila
Our competition teams are now into regular practice schedule, which means twice a week. We had some team building exercises during January to help us work together better. We are planning on two square teams, four callers, two cuers and one round couple this year. We are still selling the festival pins and have added our raffle tickets to our sale items.
Please mark your calendars for Sunday, March 2, 2020 for our fundraiser dance. We will be having the drawing for our cash raffle; raffle baskets/silent auction and great fun.
See you at a dance soon
Petrina Buchheit
February 14 (2nd Fri)
We always have fun at our dances even though they are small in attendance. Hope some of you can join us in the future.
Sandy
February 7 (1st Fri)
February 21 (3rd Fri)
Just a reminder that Willamette Squares will be dark January 25 due to Mid-Winter Festival. We hope to see many of you there! In the meantime continue to ring in the new year! Happy dancing, everyone!
Jodee
February 22 (4th Sat)
February 5 (1st Wed)
Tri-squares has an interesting concept to encourage visitors. In these times of declining membership in the square dance world and/or too-few members to complete a square, the Tigard club promotes attendance by awarding a visitation banner IF five out of eight members attend...how cool is that for small clubs?
How did you open your New Year? Were you fortunate enough to have fireworks? Hazel Dell Grange did - what a great way to celebrate the New Year.
On January 3rd, Chaps and Petticoats opened our first-Friday dance of the new year with Scott Zinser calling and Julie Stiers as Cuer. We had only one-square but a great time dancing Plus (instead of MS) most of the evening. The cool thing about having fewer people to entertain is you make your own fun - which we did, DBD style - what a great time...thank you everyone.
Did you support your new-dancers at a January-Jamboree? Chaps and Petticoats new-dancers got to experience taking home a visitation banner at the Country Cut-Ups Jamboree on January 5th. I’m thinking there were six squares and lots of them were new dancers, including youth - a very successful dance and lots of smiles on the floor as Scott Zinser and Julie Stiers put us through the paces.
Two MS Angels, that help Chaps with lessons at Maplewood Grange, graduated Plus (in one-day) and gave rave-reviews of Rose Town Ramblers’ Caller, Ian Craig, and the unique lesson: “Learn Plus in One-day” held at Oak Grove Community Center on Saturday, January 11th. A dance was held afterward - a super way to cement the learning curve.
Chaps and Petticoats have two dances coming up - can you join us? On FEB 7th Scott Zinser opens with Plus and we look forward to having Randy Lewis as our Cuer. Please turn out and help us welcome Randy, whom we haven’t danced to in a while.
Chaps and Petticoats will celebrate our 45th Anniversary on February 21st themed “The FLINTSTONE Dance” because we go “way back!” We sincerely hope you join us at our stone-age town of Bedrock (a/k/a Maplewood Grange) where we will award three prizes for dressing the era, so come as your favorite caveman/women/kid, dinosaur, wooly mammoth (hides/bones) or other favorite saber-toothed fur cat. There will be picture opportunities in the “Flintstone mobile” maybe even with your favorite “sound-blaster” Darrell Kalmback or Tami Helms.
See you at Mid-Winter!
Betty Chipps
We will be graduating mainstream students this month and it has been fun to have quite a few younger people. We welcome all who want to joint our club.
Last month, I asked you to save the date for the next Murder Mystery Play and
Dance, but then we changed the date! The new date to mark on your calendar is April 19th. We look forward to your support!
Beverly De La Bruere
February 1 (1st Sat)
February 22 (4th Sat)
February 29 (5th Sat)
Additionally, we were thrilled to welcome 16 new students to our lesson program at our first lesson in January. We now have a total of 50 students actively enrolled in our basic, mainstream, and plus levels. Our club offers 8 week lesson sessions. New students may begin during the first two lessons of each 8 week session. Once enrolled, students continue at their own pace, opting either to move on from one level to the next or to repeat the current level until they feel comfortable moving on. We are extremely pleased with the energy and enthusiasm the students have shown in our classes this year. It does not necessarily follow that all students will complete the program or that they will join our club. However, most students have an experience that provides an opportunity to enjoy this great activity and will, perhaps, at some point decide to continue in square dancing either as a club member or as an independent dancer attending various club events.
Jean Tolstrup
February 1 (1st Sat)
February 15 (3rd Sat)
February 1 (1st Sat)
Our students are progressing very nicely. We have taken them to several new dancer jamborees and they are enthusiastic about square dancing. We will be holding a special dance in February, (on Saturday February 8) for their graduation. Whether you are a couple or a single, you are welcome to celebrate Valentine’s month with our special “Friendship Dance” and graduation. We will also be having a square dance clothing sale at that time. Come join us as we celebrate friendship.
Our second dance in February will be the third Saturday and is a regular dance.
In March, we will be celebrating St Patrick’s day on March 14 with the wearing of the green. You will also see us out on our monthly club visitations. If you are missing some club banners, chances are good that we might have one of yours. Our welcome mat is always out and we love having visitors. Come dance with us as we celebrate friendship in February and through the year.
On January 31, our club hosted the PAC dance which was held at our hall.
Carol Mendenhall
February 8 (2nd Sat)
February 15 (3rd Sat)
We hosted our first ever Plus Blast on January 11, in which we attempted to teach all of the Plus calls over the course of one day (9 am to 5 pm). We had 11 enthusiastic students, and Ian Craig did a spectacular job of teaching and time management. He taught all of the Plus calls with time to spare for a couple of practice tips with singing calls. We were fortunate to have lots of angelic support from our own club and other PAC clubs. Accordingly, we were able to rotate in fresh groups of angels throughout the day. This was a really positive experience for all.
The party didn’t end at 5, though, because January 11 was our regular monthly dance night. So, we ran home and changed our duds and came back recharged for our annual Black and White Ball. Speaking of blasts…We had a wonderful visitation from the Buzzin’ Bees, resulting in 5 squares of rambunctious Ramblers and friends. Our caller Stephen Cole was stellar, as always, and we even danced overtime we were having so much fun. You should definitely mark January 9, 2021, on your calendar. This dance is not to be missed.
On February 8, we will be welcoming Dan Preedy to call for the Ramblers for the first time ever. We will dance Mainstream and Plus from 7:30 to 9:30 at the Oak Grove Community Center, 14496 SE Cedar Ave., Oak Grove, Oregon.
SYIAS!
Jeff Knapp, President
Happy New Year to all square dance Clubs and dancers. We especially need men at this time. Please come and see what we are all about. We have great callers and cuers, dance floors, lots of parking and lunch after the dance. We are an older group and dance a little slower
If you have not danced for along time, not to worry, just come. And of course we mean ladies too.
Let's all work to build up square dancing this year. We meet almost all Fridays.
Sincerely, NC
February 7 (1st Fri)
Our next dance is January 31 in Medford at Rogue Valley Square Dance Center. See flyer in the OFN.
Our next meeting for the Rogue Sis Q Council is February 4th at 4:30pm, at Round Table Pizza in Medford.
January 9th, our September students celebrated their 3rd Plateau; and they are on schedule to graduated February 6th. A few of the students came to our last 2 dances and did a great job! They are having a lot of fun!! January classes started on the 7th and we started out with 18 new students. Weather kept some dancers home this week and the 2nd week of classes we had 8 students. There is one more open night of class on the 21st. Starting Thursday, February 20th, we will have a Mainstream Funshop from 6:00-7:15pm and a new Plus class & Funshop from 7:15 to 8:30pm.
Thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets for the quilt that was donated with the proceeds going to Lorri McIntosh and the kids.The winner will be drawn at our February 1st dance.
Our February dances will be a great time and we hope you join us. February 1st is our annual Tailgate Party & Chili Cook Off. Chili is served at 6pm and dancing kicks off at 7pm with Pre Rounds by Rikki Lobato. Mainstream/Plus tips from 730-10pm. February 15th is our Precious Heart dance; come celebrate with your sweetheart. A-1 Tips at 6pm with Chuck Simpkins and Pre Rounds start at 7pm with Bob Dingman. There will be alternating Plus & Mainstream tips from 730-10pm. Check out the flyers!
We are busy getting ready for Boatnik Memorial Weekend and hope to see everyone there. We have the fabulous talent of Bronc Wise & Peter (Chama) Gomez and are so excited to welcome everyone to the party. Get your ribbons!!
Our dancers are looking forward to enjoying the MidWinter Festival and look forward to dancing in a square with you!!
February 1 (1st Sat)
February 15 (3rd Sat)Once again I begin with sad news. We recently learned that our long time round dance cuer, Ward Foster passed away. He passed in Nov. For those of you who knew and remember Ward & Joyce, they were our club cuers for many years, I am not sure of the dates but do recall when they cued for us. They cued in Oregon, as well as other states traveling and cueing dances and festivals. I am not sure of the number of rounds they wrote. We saw Ward at our birthday dance in Sept, I have a few round dance records he used at our dances.
On a lighter note and staying with the round dance thought, when we get back into full swing of party nights, Elaine has agreed to teach an easy level round at the dances. This will give all dancers the chance to give round dancing a try and hopefully keep it up. Elaine has agreed to be our go to cuer which we are very happy about. Sherrie & I firmly believe round dancing is a major part of the activity.
Due to weather and road conditions we had to cancel our January party night, we are now shooting for February weather providing. As always we want our dancers to be safe and not risk traveling in bad weather. If the weather is bad or has the potential of being bad please call us and check to see if the dance has been canceled. You can send an email but, a phone call will probably get a quicker response. Our home phone is 530-842-7031 We do have, and carry cell phones which are (Dean) 530-643-1680 (Sherrie)530-340-6132.
When we get into the swing of things, I will attempt to call to the level of the floor. If there are enough Advanced dancers I will attempt that. I think the level of our dances will lean toward easy basic and soft mainstream because at this point the bulk of our dancers(about a square) are new dancers and we want them to come as much as possible to participate in a club night. As always we invite ALL dancers to attend.
On a final note we are still planning on holding our Gold Diggers Dance, but due to the nationals and other conflicts we are not sure of the date. Also at this time we do not have any one making our dance fliers, I have had offers from Chuck & Francis but I am hoping to get one of my new dancers to take on that task.. So thank you Chuck & Francis, I will keep you posted.
Hope to see you on the floor
Dean
Come out & join us on March 13th for the next Game Night. The theme for this one has yet to be decided. We have a blast. If you don't play Mexican Train, there is usually a game of cribbage going on. We are open to most table games.
Classes are going well & the students are really enthusiastic. There is also a new beginning dancer class that started on January 13th. Everyone is having a great time with classes. The Thursday class is getting close to graduation and doing very well.
The Febuary Dance has been designated an "Amateur Night." If you are an aspiring caller or cuer, come out! Phil Ramey will be emceeing. COME ON DOWN!!!!
The Stars are once again collecting stuffed animals for the Jackson County Sheriff's Department to give to children in distress. Last year we collected and donated 200+ animals. I think we can do better. There is a tote on the stage at the Rogue Valley Square Dance Center to put the animals in. PLEASE HELP!!
We are again going to sponsor the Alzheimers Benefit Dance. It will be on Sunday, June 7, 2020 from 2 to 5pm. This is a very worthy cause and hits home to a lot of us in the square dance world. All proceeds will go to Alzheimer Research. The Callers & Cuers are donating their time and the Stars are donating the hall. A challenge has been issued. Last year we raised $520+ and the challenge is to double that; at the very least.
See you in a square!
February 8 (2nd Sat)
February 22 (4th Sat)The New Years Eve dance had unusually low attendance probably due to the illness affecting many of our dancers. Those who were in attendance had a good time with an abundance of food and treats. Darrell Kalmbach and Sherri Clark kept us all dancing with their calling and cueing. As the New Year approached we all gathered in a big circle and ushered in the New Year. The Sunset Promenaders won the TVC banner for having the highest percentage of the club in attendance.
The next TVC fifth Saturday Dance, "Celebrate Winter Ending", will be held at the Aloha Grange on February 29th. This dance will feature Adam Christman calling and Joyce Hooper cueing. The dance begins at 7:30 with pre rounds, then 8:00 to 10:00 mainstream with every third tip plus. This dance is co-hosted by the M 'n M's. Please bring finger foods & deserts for all to enjoy.
Ferrous Steinka
February 29 (5th Sat)December was a great month, otherwise. We had Mike and Julie Stout with us and as usual they did a wonderful job. On the 28th, Darrell Kalmbach and Susan Healea graciously filled in for Jim. So a big SHOUT-OUT to both of them.
Now on to the short month of February. Our ONLY dance this month will be on the 8th. Craig Abercrombie and Julie Stiers do us the honors that evening. The 4th Saturday on February is always reserved by the Grange for the Cloggers conference and dance. Thus, sadly we will be dark. But, that gives us the opportunity to visit our friends so that seems be in the works.
We have decided to continue with our beginning lessons and our mainstream lessons while Jim is away. Our next beginning square dance lessons will begin the first Tuesday in February. Otherwise, lessons are continuing as usual.
Nick Johnson
February 8 (2nd Sat)Our reigning King of Hearts, Chet Wolter, and Queen of Hearts, Carolyn Hindman, will ceremoniously hand over their crowns and scepters to a new King and Queen of hearts at our dance February 17th. Now is the time to show your romantic side and you could find yourself a royal for a year.
I would like to put in a THANK YOU to the visitors we have each week. Some attend regularly and others just show up when they can. I know all clubs like to have people visit, so remember; you can have a new and enjoyable experience dancing with a diversity of callers and guests. Such a mix provides both change and manageable challenges to both the novice and the seasoned square dancer. It also gives us a chance to learn something new!
Plan to attend the New Year’s TVC Dance next year. We had so much good food left over because illness and nasty rain kept our numbers lower than normal. The beautiful outfits and multicolored lighting created a festive atmosphere fitting a special dance. I even saw a couple of tuxes. Caller Daryl Kalmbach and Cuer Sherri Clark kept us on our toes in more ways than one using some new calls and old favorites.
Tell your Mainstream friends that Plus Lessons are starting noon, February 10th, at the Sunset Presbyterian Church. It's a good time to brush up on those Plus moves too. Our three callers give the students a solid grounding in dancing plus and the experience of dancing with different callers, an added plus. (Pun intended)
Our regular Plus dance is at 1:15 - 3:00 pm immediately after lessons. Come enjoy our three great callers. We dance "Every Monday Afternoon" at Sunset Presbyterian Church 14986 NW Cornell Rd. Beaverton, OR 97229. Please check for up to date information at www.EagerBeavers.info.
Rachel Nettleton
February 10 (2nd Mon)
February 17 (3rd Mon)Craig Holt
On December 14th we held our Soupy Toy Dance with dancers from nine different clubs in attendance. Toys placed under the tree were delivered to Les Schwab and their annual toy drive. Donations to the Aloha Grange Adopted Family were gathered to wait to be delivered. We then adjourned to the dining room and consumed or should I say slurped a wide variety of delicious soups.
The very next day, on December 15th we held our New Dancer Jamboree. We extended a hearty welcome to the Hoedowner’s new students and to the new dancers from Tri-squares, Toe-Draggers and Oak Hills. Daryl couldn’t attend so we were serenaded by Craig Abercrombie with Terry Halley calling a tip or two.
After the dance, we had a great group gather in the dining room as we wrapped the gifts for the Aloha Grange’s Adopted Christmas Family. There were gifts for the family, for the parents and each of the four children. It was a festive and rewarding afternoon.
December 28th was our Pajama Dance. What a relief after Christmas; spending time in our jammies; cuddly and comfy with elastic waistbands. Now there were a few folk that apparently wear jeans to bed but the majority lounged around in flannel. When we adjourned to the dining room, we found pancakes, eggs, hash browns and cinnamon rolls. It was an absolutely perfect evening dining on breakfast.
Looking ahead we’ll be going all out for our Black and White Sparkle Valentine Dance on the 8th of February; twinkling lights galore. Wearing white and/or black is suggested. Oh, and there will be red for Valentine’s.
February 22nd is our 70th Anniversary Dance. Speaking of decades, the Hoedowners have enjoyed seven of them and shooting for 8. Please join us for a Spaghetti Dinner beginning at 6:15.
Krystal Laas
February 8 (2nd Sat)
February 22 (4th Sat)Speaking of birthdays, the Winona Grange will be celebrating its 125th Anniversary this year; they are planning some special events in the fall. In a recently distributed newsletter, we learned that the Winona Grange members first met at Thompson’s Hall and from there moved to the old Tualatin High School. When the school closed in about 1939, the members built the current building. Its timber was cut from the Pennington farm and the posts downstairs came from the Buchanan place. The grange was named Winona after JRC Thompson’s daughter who had passed away. The article writes of the Oregon State College student who was hired to teach the teenagers how to square and round dance and also of the hall filled with local kids having a great time on Saturday nights. I guess M&M’s are just doing what we can to keep that tradition alive!
Lindie Noonan
Our February theme dance will be a Ground Hog Dance on February 3rd. We will be watching for Punxsutawney Phil. What’s special about that? Come and check it out.
Beginning mainstream dancers’ class will begin on February 10th, from 6:30 to 7:30.
Please join TVC’s newest club on Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30. The first Monday of the month is our theme dance and continues until 9:00, with mainstream dancing to all singing calls, phase two rounds and open break.
Hang in there – the weather will get better!!
Marie Clem
February 3 (1st Mon)February is Valentine month and our first dance is ON THE day, so bring your Valentine out for a dance. The dance on Saturday February 22nd will be rockin' and rollin' 50s and 60s with Guest caller Mark Wheeler. This dance is always fun as this vintage is very familiar to most of us. If there is a poodle skirt in your closet, now might be the time to justify keeping it. And the guys can roll up their sleeves and slick back their hair. Brylcream cream IS still available.
Dance info: 7pm - 8pm Plus with advanced rounds, 8pm - 9:30pm Mainstream with rounds. 106 NW 8th Ave, Kelso, WA 98626 by the Rotary spray park at the intersection of Hwy 4 and W Main, Kelso/Longview. Our dances are $6 admission.
Annie Tietze
February 22 (4th Sat)This month our Thursday Plus Dance nights which are on February 6th and 20th feature Darrell Kalmbach calling, with a guest cuer on the 6th and Julie Stiers cueing on the 20th.
Our lessons continue but are closed to students with no experience on Sundays with our Mainstream lessons at 4:00 to 6:00. Lessons are all at the Hillsboro Odd Fellows Hall 267 E. Main Street. Mike and Julie Stout will instruct the mainstream. If you or someone you know are interested in brushing up your dance feel free to come and join in on one or more sessions. Angels are free, students are $6.
Thank you to all you visitors that come to our dances, we really appreciate it, and your attendance is always a good thing. Thanks.
Tom & Janice Sminia
February 1 (1st Sat)
February 6 (1st Thu)
February 9 (2nd Sun)
February 15 (3rd Sat)
February 20 (3rd Thu)By this time round dance lessons should be well under way, we always need extra angels, so join us on Sunday afternoons from 2:00-4:00.
Kathy Degman
February 7 (1st Fri)
February 21 (3rd Fri)In February we’ll have our big dance, the Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball, right on Valentine’s Day and hope you all can come. Terry Halley will be calling and Sandra Pinion cueing, and there will be prizes for best masks and costumes, but come in regular dance attire if you like instead. Rounds and Plus begin at 7:30, with Mainstream at 8:00 and we break downstairs at 10:00.
Also in February WE WILL BE DARK ON FEBRUARY 28th, instead we will be visiting Valley River Dancers in Newberg. Because of the change in our dance nights this year (to second & fourth Fridays) conflicting with their dance nights, and since they are new members of TVC, we wanted to support them one last time.
Gloria Davis
February 14 (2nd Fri)We were saddened by the surprising news of Ken Pratt’s passing just after the New Year. Not only was he an outstanding cuer and passionate teacher of round dancing, he was a good friend to many of us. He will be missed by Valley River Dancers and the entire Square and Round Dance community for a long time to come.
The Valley River Dancers New Dancer Jamboree / Christmas Dance on Friday, December 27th was a lot of fun, but not very well attended by new dancers as in previous years.
Our Anniversary Dance is Friday, February 28th. We hope you will come dance and wish us a happy birthday in person and enjoy some delicious cake and ice cream as we celebrate at break.
Beginning Tuesday, February 4th from 6:30-8 p.m. the Valley River Dancers and Chehalem Parks and Recreation Department sponsor mainstream lessons taught by Randy Dibble. This 12 lesson class costs $68 per person and is payable in class, which will be held at the Chehalem Community Center (kitchen area) 2nd and Howard Streets.
February 9th is a 5th Saturday and we are dancing ‘A’ at the Woodburn Senior Estates Community Center.. come join the fun.
Josie Rosenbury
February 14 (2nd Fri)
February 28 (4th Fri)
February 29 (5th Sat)Our classes begin February 4th, 7-9 pm at the Aloha Grange. Know of anyone interested in learning? Please invite them to come try it out, Feb 4th & 11th are free, thereafter $6 adult.
Our February 15th dance will be a "Valentines Soup Dance" with soup at 6:30 pm in the dining hall, with our dance from 7-8:30 pm Mainstream (may vary) and 8:30-9:30 ish pm Plus. Dessert will be served in the Grange Room upstairs during the dance. Craig Abercrombie calling, Connie Clark cueing. Come join us and enjoy soup, friendship and square dancing.
Happy Valentines Day, see you in a square,
Carolene Siebert
February 15 (3rd Sat)Bob Allen
February 8 (2nd Sat)
February 22 (4th Sat)