As I write this I think back to one year ago, when during the middle of this month we were told to shelter in place. It’s now a year later and we still haven’t been able to dance like we want to. Sure, we can grab our partner and dance in the kitchen to the radio, or now to a Zoom caller or cuer, but it’s just not the same. Remember we are all in this together and we WILL find a new normal as soon as we have herd immunity. Get the vaccine if you are comfortable with that. It’s your choice!!!! Being outside in the fresh air is a good thing. Make the most of what we CAN do during the pandemic, but be safe.
The callers around the state of Oregon are trying to unify, so that the lessons given will all be standardized when dancing starts again. Therefore, new graduates will be able to dance at any club and be successful. We need to support this effort that callers are making for our activity. We are all looking forward to having some fun again.
The Federation is here to help you and the clubs. Contact any of the Federation officers if there is anything we can do to help. We don’t have all the answers, but we will strive to find them for you.
As time goes by, staying positive is hard to do, but let me say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have to believe that, and make the most of whatever the New Normal will be.
We should get some nice weather in March, so get outside and enjoy it. Rains will happen, but so will sunshine. Keep the smile on your face and greet everyone you see—just like all good square dancers do. It will make a difference and you will feel better.
Swing Your Partner . . . . Beware of the Ides of March.
Gary Clark
Federation President
With the population starting to get vaccinated, there's a chance we could get back to dancing this summer. It's going to take some careful planning to make that work.
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:
You may find the text of this article by Federation 2nd Vice President Tim Keck, and useful pages from the State of Oregon and from USDA, https://ofn.club/content/2021-03/Covid%20Guidelines%20(210310).pdf .
The next Federation meeting will be a Zoom teleconference on May 16, 2021, at 9:00 AM.
As of now, no Oregon Summer Festival is planned for 2021. Washington's Summer Festival is scheduled for June 17-19, 2021, in Everett, WA.
Mid-Winter Festival 2022 is currently scheduled for January 28-30, 2022, at the Linn County Fairgrounds in Albany.
The latest news about the National Square Dance Conventions® is located in the National Squares magazine, produced by the NEC. You can find the latest issue here: (http://nsdcnec.com/flipdocs/NatSqOnline/Natsq1120/index.html)
The 70th National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Jackson, Mississippi, June 23-26, 2021. They are still planning for this to happen.
The 71st National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Evansville, Indiana, June 22-25, 2022. Note that the 71st NSDC Pre-Convention, previously scheduled for March 10-13, 2021, has been canceled and will be held virtually.
The 72nd National Square Dance Convention® will be held in Mobile, Alabama, June 21-24, 2023.
The 73rd National Square Dance Convention® has just been awarded to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for June of 2024.
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:
March 4 -- Muddy Frogs
March 6 -- Misty Valley Cloggers
March 14 -- Golden Squares
March 18 -- ORDTA
March 22 -- Sundown Round Dance Club
March 23 -- Saints-N-Aints
March 27 -- Timber Twirlers
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.
Thank you to the clubs in the Oregon Federation who voted for us to be awarded the Randall Award. It is a great honor to receive this award. Square and Round dancing has been an enjoyable activity for most of our lives and we are missing it now. For those of you who did not know, Norma's aunt and uncle, Dorothy and Ray Murray, also received the Award right after they served as Federation President. Thanks again and stay safe until we can dance again.
Gary and Norma Sohn
You can download this list of callers and cuers who are available and ready to call or cue a dance for you.
Callers:
Cuers:
ORDTA has chosen the March Classic Round of the Month: "Their Hearts are Dancing", Phase II+2 Two-Step (Spin Turn & Box Finish), choreographed by Stuart Lewis & Fay Samborsky, music by Forester Sisters.
By the way, there is an error on the cue sheet: the wait time at the beginning is 4 measures, not 2 measures as the cue sheet says.
[Download your cue sheet here] (https://www.roundalab.org/CuesheetsDL2/Their%20Hearts%20Are%20Dancing%2C%20Lewis-Samborsky_Waltz_2%2B2.pdf).
For more information on the Round of the Month, please contact .
Click a thumbnail to download the flyer.
Click a thumbnail to see the full-sized picture.
Click a council name to go directly to that section.
The last scheduled dance activity at our hall in Springfield was Christina Corelli's round dance class March 9, 2020. Little did we know we'd still not be able to dance after all this time..
We look with optimism for the rest of 2021!
Keep on thinking positive thoughts!
Christina Corelli
Secretary
Gaynor Hintz
Club Reporter
We have all endured one of the strangest times in our lives. No dancing for most of us at all. I did get to attend one dance in Roseburg in October as Douglas County has often been only in the high risk category and some have opted to dance with masks and stay socially distanced when not in a square. They are even going to start lessons Feb. 20 from 2 to 4PM. I think many may need to take those lessons before we start up our dances again. Contact the Roseburg Buckeroos if you are interested in getting their full schedule.
A few Single Trees, Whirl-A-Ways and one lone Buckeroo have formed our own bubble and are dancing to virtual dances through YouTube. It is going quite well, and we should not need any refresher courses before we start dancing again. It takes a bit to get used to virtual dancing, and it is easier with 3-4 people, but it can be done with just one person as long as you know your definitions and can keep the four sides of the square in mind. Give it a try!
Stay safe and get ready to start dancing again.
Gaynor Hintz
Vice President/Club Reporter
Our caller, Tim Matteson, is now retired from Euphoria Chocolate Company after working for them for 23 years. Happy retirement, Tim! Tim is looking after his mother who is in frail health. Our prayers are with them both. Tim's mom sewed shirts for Tim. He found the material. He's got an impressive collection. Always fun and colorful.
Hang in there everyone!
Christina Corelli
Member - At - Large
Mid-Winter is planning for 2022 and registrations will be out soon. The guest cuers are Randy and Marie Preskitt. The guest cuer for 2023 is in rehab for a bad bout of Covid. We send healing thoughts to Barbara Blackford.
We also send our condolences to the family of Regine Anderson from Penticton, British Columbia. She was found deceased in her home in late January. She was short of stature but a great cuer and Oregon selected her round for the Round of the Month for February 2020.
Marilyn Schmit
We are looking forward to and planning to have lessons start in September.
Petrina
It is exciting to see round dancing start up within our Clackamas County club. I’m sure it will pick up as more are vaccinated. I first realized I was getting out of practice when I heard some recorded rumba music, then realized I didn’t remember how to do a round dance rumba. Yes, I actually had to consult my phase three round dance book to refresh my memory!
Jim
Jim
March 6 (1st Sat)
March 20 (3rd Sat)
March 27 (4th Sat)
Janet
Stay well.
Carol Mendenhall
Discussions at the meeting included, future TVC sponsored dances which will remain unplanned until we are dancing, a report that Gary and Norma Sohn were awarded the Randall Award, and some discussion about the new Callerlab square dance program, Social Square Dancing, consisting of 50 moves for Basics and Mainstream.
Our next meeting will be on Monday, February 22nd at 7 pm via Zoom.
Ferrous Steinka
When will it be over? I wait for my shots. I have not been allowed ( my wife is strict) since before Christmas to go to the grocery store.
Keep the faith! It will get better. It will.
Nick Johnson
All of us seem to be living in a bubble to avoid a serious illness but we suffer from lack of personal touch. It happens to me. The bubble seems to be tough but do not let it be. We are lucky to live in an age of instant communication if we can just figure out how to use it. It is not the same as meeting friends and relatives in person but Zoom reminds us what is important. Face Time on your phone works because special moments can be shared in real time.
Hope is here and it will be better. Start planning the places and people you want to see as soon as you get your vaccination. Make some reservations. Send some invitations for a Labor Day Party or even a July 4th picnic. Surely we will be able to get out and about by then. On the other hand, I am not a good predictor of events so cross your fingers for good luck. Call a friend on St. Patrick’s Day and wish them the “Luck of the Irish” using an Irish accent and see if they recognize you.
In the meantime keep yourself in shape. Be ready to dance on day one. Get out and take a walk and keep that body moving. Keep the faith, we will be seeing each other at the dance and telling each other about our bubble buddies. Also, check for our start date at www.EagerBeavers.info.
Rachel Nettleton
1. Not matter how you feel, get up, get dressed and show up.
2. Life to too short to waste it hating anyone.
3. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
4. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
5. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
6. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
7. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
8. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you.
9. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.
10. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting and spring is coming.
11. Growing old beats the alternative—dying young.
12. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets and wear the fancy lingerie. TODAY IS A SPECIAL OCCASION!
13. Smile and laugh more.
14. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
15. Forgive everyone everything.
16. Hug often.
17. Live passionately.
18. Give generously.
19. Smell good.
20. I remember the joy square dancing gives me and will give me again when we take to the floor.
I hope you and your family are all safe.
Krystal Laas
We are planning to start round dancing lessons with masks and social distancing as soon as it is permitted, as this seems the type of dancing to have the least interpersonal contact, and we are all itching to get back to dancing!
Marie Clem
We have kept up our monthly board meetings over Zoom and also our monthly club-wide chats called "Gabfests." In March we'll announce our slate of officers at our Zoom General Meeting, and like last year, we'll be voting over email. Of course, getting back to squares may take longer than we think, so it's really important to keep exercising at home to keep up our stamina! Let's hope more types of vaccines are approved and the process goes faster.
Gloria Davis
My yard is springing up with Spring flowers, no blooms yet, but should be in full bloom by the time you read this (it's written in February). Just got back from a "park stroll" with a few of my neighbors. I live in a senior park of manufactured home with small lots so not a huge amount of gardening, and 15 mph streets.
I have been attending Daryl Clendenin's every-other-Tuesday evening Zoom meetings. Caller Lab has come up with a Social Square Dance program which has 50 calls, a combination of all but four Mainstream calls and the remainder are most of Basic. They want our clubs who do Mainstream to adapt the SSD-50 for both our classes and dances. The idea is to incorporate new dancers into our clubs faster, with the 50 movements taught in 12 weeks instead of the usual 20 weeks. Plus and higher clubs will remain the same. Our Callers will be able to make the SSD-50 dance just as much fun as Mainstream. It's really how they put the moves together and the music they use. Music that makes you move and call combinations that make movements smooth work well no matter what the level. Let's support our Callers with this new program. We need new dancers to take lessons and stick around, join our club's and dance, fill our floors. This is what the SSD-50 is meant to do, boost square dancing.
Stay safe,
Carolene Siebert