Catskills Square Dancing Swings on!

Unlike the past two years, August 2022 does not mark a significant rise in Covid infection rates. As a result Catskills Folk Connection is planning more square dances. Of course, should conditions change, we will abide by necessary Covid precautions. Check here just before the dance date to see if there will be additional precautions.

This month, the CFC square dance will be at the Catskills Visitor Center 5906 NY-28, Mt. Tremper NY12457 on Saturday August 20 at 1 p.m. Notice the afternoon time.  The dance will take place in the Center's outdoor pavilion. Tremperskill Boys will again be the band, with the possibility of a special guest.  They will play and call square dances and offer tunes for waltzing, polka and maybe a two-step.

Join us for an afternoon of summer fun.  Families are welcome.  Admission is free. Donations are gratefully accepted. Refreshments will be available. 

Eastern traditional square dancing is a family and community affair.  It derives from the old house dances that were common in the Catskills through the middle of the 20th century.  A farm family would pass the word that there would be a fiddler at their house on Saturday.  Everyone would finish evening milking and go to the designated farm where they would help move the furniture out on the porch (or out on the yard!). The children would snooze on top of the pile of coats in the bedroom and be awakened by their parents for the ride home.  This inclusive community event had a very different origin from the way "western" square dance clubs were formed.  Clubs were extremely popular in urban areas after World War II, with recorded music, a universal curriculum, and required skill levels.  In the country, people just grew up square dancing.

Whether you are an experienced Catskills square dancer, or a newcomer wanting to participate in local traditions, come to the dance on August 20 at the Catskills Visitor Center on Route 28 in Mt. Tremper. For more information refer to our blog www.catskillsfolkconnection.blogspot.com or contact Ginny Scheer 607-326-4206 or gscheer.mcs@gmail.com. dancing.    

Catskills Folk Connection is sponsored by the Roxbury Arts Group and is funded in part by the NYS Council on the Arts Folk Art Program, by Gov. Hochul and the NYS Legislature, by HumanitiesNY’s Action and  and Vision Grants, and by the O’Connor Foundation.