My Thoughts · square dance

Hot August Nights: Collaboration at Its Best

Larada Horner-Miller
Hot August Nights Committee, 2024
Hot August Nights Committee, 2024

The 18th Annual Hot August Nights Square and Round Dance Festival is over for another year and I saw collaboration at its best.

First,

The Hot August Nights event, from its inception, has been a collaboration of dancers who love to promote square and round dancing. The present-day committee for this event spans multi-states: New Mexico, Arizona, Virginia, Utah and Idaho. As the committee morphed and changed, we added this multi-state dimension and it has worked.

Second,

We have hired top-notch staff each year and have collaborated with them on a variety of aspects about the event, including them when their schedule allows to attend our Follow-up meeting on Sunday at the close of the festival. Listening to advice from national callers and cuers, we have changed our schedule, honed in on specific details of a successful festival and even changed the location of the logo on the front of our 10th annual t-shirt.

Third,

This year, we collaborated with a local square dance club, Duke City Square Dance Club, to provide a Recycle Shop for our event. We have done it ourselves for many years but gave it up after last year because it became too much of a time-consumer for the committee. When Duke City’s president asked if they could do a Recycle Shop, we agreed and it worked out smoothly.

Fourth,

Our staff this year (like so many other years) collaborated with us in a variety of ways. I had made a mistake on the schedule so Mitchell Thompson, our cuer, reminded me of some time changes we needed to do, and it worked out fine.

Friday night we made a schedule change for the Saturday afternoon square dance program, moving the “High Energy” from last event of the afternoon to start it. I didn’t change it on the website and we had local dancers who missed this fun activity because of the time change. Tony Oxendine graciously added another “High Energy” tip so those dancers had a test of that energetic dancing.

True collaboration works!

Last but not list,

Committee members collaborating! Hot
Committee members collaborating!

The Hot August Nights committee is one of the best committees I’ve ever worked with, and this year I saw it in full action. Because of the dog attack wound I had, I couldn’t do my usual duties, so each one of the committee members took extra care to cover my duties, especially my husband, Lin. The event in my estimation hummed like a well-oiled machine.

Finally,

Dancers, staff and committee at Hot August Nights
Dancers, staff and committee at Hot August Nights

Because of the many facets of collaboration, our dancers had a great time at this Hot August Nights. What a joy it was to see all the smiles, hear all the laughter and listen to Tony’s beautiful renditions of so many beloved songs and enjoy Mitchell’s cuing and Chelsea’s helpful spirit and beautiful dancing!

Update on My Dog Attack:

I went to the Wound Clinic on Thursday. The nurse specialist took off the scab and cleaned the wound thoroughly—OUCH!!!! Then he put on a compression bandage from my toes to my knee. The good news is—NO SKIN GRAFT!

Elevating my leg - Hot
Elevating My Leg A lot!

I tried to elevate my leg during the weekend festival as much as possible, but my ankle and foot kept swelling up—probably too much activity.


On Saturday night after listening to all the dances I wanted to jump up and do, with Lin on my left side and my cane on my right side, I did do a 30 second small-step version of a cha cha of “Irish Washer Woman” and cried because I couldn’t do very much!

The Wound Clinic nurse said I will see him weekly for five weeks, so I’ll see what I have ahead of me!

Podcasts & My Interviews

Audiobooks Sale – August 15 – 31 – 25% Off:

This Tumbleweed Landed

This Tumbleweed Landed audiobook cover

Let Me Tell You a Story 

Let Me Tell You a Story audiobook cover

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

Published by Larada Horner-Miller

Larada Horner-Miller is a poet, essayist and accomplished multi-genre author who holds a bachelor’s degree in English, with a minor in Spanish and a master of education degree in Integrating Technology into the Classroom. She is the accomplished author of eight award-winning biographies, historical fiction, memoir, and poetry works and three audiobook’s plus three self-published cookbooks. Her most recent book, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry is a finalist in the Global Book Awards. As is our book released last year, Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir. Horner-Miller has also been a past national presenter at the Women Writing the West Conference and is currently the creator of Memoir Workshops for others who want to share their family’s legacies through words. Larada and her husband, Lin, enjoy being nestled in the mountains above Albuquerque, New Mexico, near the village of Tijeras. When not writing books, this passionate, energetic, and enthusiastic woman loves to spend time kicking up her heels at square dancing gatherings, traveling, knitting, and reading. As co-manager of her family’s southeastern Colorado ranch, she enjoys spending time exploring her family’s historic ranch and reminiscing with her brother and his children about their mom, dad, and granddad.

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