[2008/07/02 4:29 am]Wednesday night we have combined Mainstream lessons at Tibbets in West Seattle. 7 to 9:30 with Ron legters. We are well passed the halfway mark in lessons so it feels like full mainstream, so come out and dance with us!
The rest of the week we are dark, back to a full schedule next week.
Enjoy the holiday!
[2008/06/28 7:14 pm]Just a quick update to the times for the Demo Tips at the Center House. The Demos will be at 4:15 and 5:30. Those are also the times we will need help from the class members to take care of the booth for us while the full level dancers are over in the Center House.
Again, a big thank you to Keith for getting us these time slots. Hopefully we will have enough people to actually do them since they should get us some nice exposure.
See everyone on Sunday!
[2008/06/28 12:09 am]First off, for those of you who ordered new badges or badge parts, they are in and in my President's bag. If you will not be at Advanced tonight let me know and we can figure out another time to get it to you.
Dancing the next couple weeks will be a little light.
This week all we have left is Advanced lessons. We were a couple people short of two squares last week, and this week a bunch of people have left for convention, but we should start getting a good idea of how many people Angels we need the next time we meet, which will be July 11th. If you are around tonight, please come out and join us. Phantoms don't work very well at this stage of things!
Next week all we have is Mainstream lessons on Wednesday. Enough angels are gone to convention that there is no way we can make both lesson nights work. That said, it should be a lot of fun on Wednesday with so many people to dance with! We are a little ways in the full Mainstream list, so unless you are counting calls, it feels like full level dancing at this point so it should be a fun evening.
So, Thursday lessons are Dark. Friday Advanced lessons are Dark, and Monday the 7th, the Challenge level night is Dark.
At that point we resume our regularly scheduled dancing!
[2008/06/27 11:57 pm]Pride Day is almost here!
As we all know, with so many people already gone to the the big IAGSDC Convention, we are a little short handed this weekend, so if you can stop buy and help with any of these events, that would be really great! This is our biggest and most public recruiting event, so the more people and visibility we have, the better!
Parade:
We are Unit 104 which places us about 2/3rds of the way through the parade. We have -just- enough people to dance, but that leaves us short of people to carry the banner and pull the wagons (one with the hilton in it, and the other with water and backpacks.) If you have a friend who would like to walk in the parade and carry the banner or hand out flyers, please bring them along on Sunday.
We will have water, but don't forget hats and sunscreen as it is projected to be in the high 80°s on Sunday!
We line up at 4th and Marian between 10:00 to 11:30am. I will be there right around 10:30 to sign us in. If everyone else can plan on getting there between 10:45 and 11:00 that would give us enough time to practice the parade calls (don't worry, no one remembers them from year to year so we are all on an even footing when it comes to dancing in the parade...) and that way I can also relax once I know everyone is going to be there.
We still need a second Wagon. Chris has volunteered her wagon again, but the second wagon from last year moved to Salt Lake with Ross and Justin. If you have a wagon we could use, please let me know by Saturday.
Pavilion Booth:
Our booth at the festival is on the west side of Fisher Pavilion and we will be there from 10am to 7pm.
http://www.seattlecenter.com/information/map.aspIt is a great location and we should be able to chat with lots of people. Grant says, "the main goal of the booth is to show how FUN we are! to attract folks from as many different age groups as possible and TO GET THEIR CONTACT INFO ON THE SIGNUP SHEET!** we need people who are enthused about square dancing and who aren't afraid to SCHMOOZE. Ideally, one person should be OUT IN FRONT of the booth at all times, engaging any/all passers-by.
**by signing up each will automatically be eligible for a drawing for FREE MS lessons for one person."
I like being able to offer a drawing. That gives us a great conversational hook to start talking to people, which, for those of us who are not good at chatting with strangers, is a really good thing.
We are covered for general shifts at the booth, but we do have special needs at 3:15 and 5:30 since all the full level dancer will need to run off to do demo tips. If we could have a student or two at the booth during those times, that will increase the odds of our having 8 dancers for the demo.
Also, if you have pictures from Puddletown events that you can stick to 8.5 x 11 pages, we will have a display book showing how much fun we have at Puddletown events. Right now we have the book, but no pictures. I will have some starter pictures for it when the show opens, but if you can add to them either before the parade or afterwords, that would be great!
Center House Demos:
Thanks to Keith, we have a chance to do a couple 10-15min demo's available at 3:15pm and 5:30pm at the Center House.
We don't have quite enough people signed up for those, so if you will be around, or better yet, if you could plan to be around, please let me know so that I have plenty of time to let Keith know what is going on.
I think that is it. I am sure I have missed something, so if you know something I don't or if I didn't cover something important, please let me know.
Troy
[2008/06/18 4:34 am]First of all, another big thank you to Grant for all the work he put into making our Homecoming dance such a big success. We had more people on the floor last Saturday than we have had in a really long time! It was a super fun afternoon and evening.
Dancing this week continues with our two nights of Mainstream lessons on Wednesday night at Tibbetts in West Seattle, and on Thursday at St. Andrews. Then on Friday we have night two of our brand new Advanced class! That is happening at Tibbetts from 7 to 9. We could use some more angels for that since we really need to be running three squares to get a better Angel to Student ratio.
We will be sending more info about Pride as we get closer to time. We still have lots of volunteer slots to fill, so let Grant know when you are available.
That is it from me, but now, a quick word from Dancers about the upcoming Planning Retreat:
Last year Puddletown Dancers celebrated its 25th anniversary. We’ve lost some long-time active members and gained many new active members. It seemed like a good time to gather together and assess where we are as an organization, where we want to go, and how we want to get there.
Therefore, we’re beginning a year-long strategic planning process to create the future of Puddletown Dancers and its affiliate level clubs (Puddletown Squares and BOQ). All members, new and old, along with students, friends, prospective members, and everyone who dances with us, are invited to bring your ideas, hopes, fears, and wishes for our club.
The initial planning retreat is this Sunday, June 22, 2:00 pm, at the home of Mark and Michael Mendelow. The 30, 74, and 75 bus will get you close.
We’ll use Bob Chadwick’s consensus process for this and future meetings. Please call or email me if you have any questions or suggestions about this process.
Hope to see you there.
Melinda McBride
Puddletown Dancers Secretary/Treasurer
[2008/06/10 4:28 am]Lots going on this week!
First up we have a big review week in our two Mainstream classes in preparation for Saturday's dance. They are all the way through basic now, so unless you have a checklist is is hard to tell it from regular Mainstream so come out and join us on Wednesday at Tibbetts United Methodist Church in West Seattle with Ron Legters calling, and on Thursday at St. Andrews in Greenlake with DC Cronyn calling.
(and, on an official note, despite what it looks like out the window, Summer is upon us so both students and angels will be going on trips and such, so the more often you can angel the better so we can make sure we keep everyone dancing!)
***
On Friday our long awaited Advanced class begins with Raleigh Wieand! As far as I have been able to determine, it has been almost 10 years since Puddletown last offered an Advanced class, so we are all very excited to be finally offering this program again at Puddletown. We plan to offer it every two years from now on, so if you have missed this class, you will be all ready by the the next one rolls around!
***
And finally, our big Homecoming Dance!
Saturday the 14th we have an entire afternoon and evening of Dancing planned for you! From 3:30 to 5:30 we will be inviting dancers we have not seen in awhile to join us for a brush-up session. Lots of people we haven't seen in awhile are planning to join us so it should be a lot of fun!
Then, immediately following the workshop we will have a potluck dinner! I suggested the potluck theme, "Carrie", but got voted down, so instead the theme will be, "Food for Summer." Jonica has an informal sign-up list to make sure we don't get 15 plates of deep-fried okra (always a worry), so drop her a line or talk to her at lessons this week and let her know what you will be bringing.
Then, from 7 to 9:30, we have the unquenchable Anne Uebelacker to call for us!
The whole day should be a lot of fun!
See you on the floor!
[2008/06/05 4:34 am]PUDDLETOWN HOMECOMING DANCE
with the unquenchable Anne Uebelacker calling
Saturday, June 14th at Mt. Baker Presbyterian Church
Do you pine for a former Pardner, or have a crush on an ol' Corner? Just like any H.S. Homecoming reunion, this is a great chance to reconnect and reminisce with other "Puddletowners". Come get re-acquainted with OLD FRIENDS and meet NEW ONES! Eat, Chat, Giggle and, of course, Kick Up Your Heels!
Feeling a bit rusty? Join others at a free "Brush-Up Workshop" in the afternoon.
Bring a dish to share at the Potluck Dinner and even help crown our "Homecoming Queen" (m or f). Come for any or all of the festivities and invite a old friend along!
Dancing from MS Class level and up. (Even a C1 tip, if there are enough for a square!)
($10 at the door gets you into all the fun)
Saturday, June 14th
Mt. Baker Presbyterian Church
3:30-5:30pm "Brush-up" workshop
5:45-6:45pm Potluck Dinner
7:00-9:30pm Dancing
MS Class level thru Challenge
www.puddletowndancers.org
[2008/05/20 2:21 am]Howdy Fellow Puddletowners!
Memorial Day Weekend is fast approaching and that means NW FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL!
Did you know that Puddletown is now the only remaining square dance club in Seattle?
As part of a plan to increase our membership recruitment opportunities this year, Puddletown Squares will be taking several opportunities to INCREASE OUR VISIBILITY in the greater Seattle square dance community. One of those opportunities is NW Folklife this coming Saturday!
An informal group of Puddletowners is asking you to join us on this Saturday at the Fisher Pavillion during Folklife for a couple hours of participation square dancing with LIVE CALLERS AND MUSICIANS. Although it is likely to be traditional square dancing, reels, and contras, it will give us a chance to show interested folks how much FUN we have as the PUDDLETOWN COMMUNITY, and pass out information about our club.
The timeblocks for square dancing happen this Saturday, May 24, from 1:00-3:00pm, at the RoadHouse Venue (Fisher Pavillion) at Seattle Center. Please wear your Puddletown shirts or T-Shirts, or other Fly-In or Convention T-Shirts (or bright colored t-shirt) AND your nametags! We will gather at the north end of the Fisher Green between 12:30pm and 1pm (circle in front of Fisher Pavillion, north of Intl Fountain).
This event and NW Folklife Festival is FREE! Please email Grant, at jeefay@hotmail.com to RSVP by Friday morning so we can look for you!
Hope to see y'all there to help spread the word about Puddletown!
[To avoid the parking chaos and support the effort to make Folklife GREEN, we suggest and encourage use of public transportation. Metro buses Routes #8, 15, 16 and 74 will take you directly to Seattle Center. Parking areas are available at Northgate Transit Station and NE of Greenlake for Route #16, and Magnuson Park for Route #74. see the Metro website at www.transit.metrokc.gov for timetables/route maps. you may want to check rider alerts and allow extra time as many folks will be riding metro that day.]
[2008/05/14 3:54 am]Mainstream lessons continue this week with the call for Session 8:
Alamo Style & Balance
Swing Thru (Alamo)
Touch 1/4
Single File (Column) Circulate
Double Pass Thru
Reverse Flutterwheel
As usual, lessons are Wednesday night at Tibbetts Methodist Church in West Seattle with Ron, and on Thursday night at St. Andrews with DC. 7:00 to 9:30.
We have also been a little short of angels, especially on Thursday's. We need around 7 angels on Wednesday, and 5 to 6 on Thursday's to keep everyone dancing.
***
Friday night at Tibbetts is Mainstream/Plus night and we have an extra special treat. The one and only Vic Ceder will be up from California and we have snagged him to call for us! For anyone who does not know, Vic is the man responsible for the software that most callers use to plan their dances and create their choreo and has written several books on square dancing. He is also a great guy and a lot of fun.
Head on out to the RVSP site and sign up to come dance with us. Since this is a special event, we will be charging a little more that we normally would ($8 to $10 rather than the usual $3 to $5), but as usual, if money is tight, just let Dinah know...We would much rather you come dance than not.
Also, if you need a ride, let us know, there are several car pools that come to Tibbetts from the North side.
http://www.cogentweb.com/puddletown/login.aspThat is it for now. See you on the floor!
[2008/05/02 10:04 pm]Just a quick note to get a head count. We need to sign up to reserve a space in the pride parade, but given that people belong to other groups or may have already left town to go to Cleveland, I figured I better get a head count to see how many people we have to dance in the parade with us.
So, if you will be able to dance in the parade with us (this includes our current students!), please let me or Grant know before Monday. I know nobody likes to commit any sooner than when they wake up after their Disco Nap the night of the event, but we would really like to be a little closer to the front of the parade this year if we are going to do it at all. We need at least 12 people to really put on a good show.
And if you really like being in parades, don't forget that Ross and Justin need help forming their new group in Salt Lake and would really like us to come down to dance with them in the Salt Lake City pride parade the weekend of June 7th and 8th.
The drive looks like a straight shot!And speaking of Road Trips, JW reminded me that the one and only Andy Shore is calling in Portland this weekend! More information can be found on the
Ramblers website!
