Our 20th Annual Hot August Nights Square and Round Dance Festival is over. What a great event! We danced, we saw old friends, and we met new ones.
How It Started
It all started 20 years ago, three couples created this event—Ted Wright & Larada, Lin Miller & Kathi Raver, and Bill & Freddi Franks. Lin and I are the only people left from the original committee. Then we have added these following wonderful people: Mary Jo Smith, Sheri Pastian, Joan Oliver, Jim & Gabrielle Murphy, Earl Quick, Cathy McKenna, Robert & Lisa Miller, and Gloria Schwab.
It has become a smashing success in the Southwest square dance world. Our staff this year made it fantastic: Mike Seastrom, caller and his wife, Lisa, and Mitch & Chelsea Thompson, cuer.
Friday
Lin and I flew in from Panama on Thursday after a horrible travel day on Wednesday because of this festival. It started on Friday afternoon with the Welcome Dance. Mike enjoyed sharing the stage with Kris Jensen Friday afternoon.
Friday night has been traditional our “Beach Party” dance with dancers wearing fun beach ware. Beach balls floated around the hall all night. We danced from 8-10:30 and ended the night with our traditional root beer floats.
During the night Mike, Mitch and Chelsea did a Pentatonix song that was amazing.
Saturday
Saturday morning started with introduction to round dancing session with Mitchell and Chelsea and then a round dance workshop for experienced dancers.
The committee went out to lunch with Mitchell and Chelsea. We talked about square and round dancing in Colorado where they live.
Then the afternoon started with Mike warming us up with High Energy dancing. Then Mike did Singing Calls for an hour. Harue Swift from Arizona joined Mike on one of the songs.The afternoon ended with a Plus workshop.
During the afternoon, Lin and Larada donned their Guerreros shirts from the men’s basketball team in Boquete, Panama they follow. The team was playing in the Championship game Saturday night. So we asked the dancers to help create a video with the cheer, “Uno, dos, tres—Guerreros!” Here’s the video. (Sadly, they lost!)
Saturday night everyone wore beautiful square dance attire, if they wanted to! Here’s me doing a round dance with a friend from Colorado!
Mitchell and Chelsea entertained us with a beautiful tango demo of round dancing!
Mike, Mitchell and Chelsesa sang another song together and the harmony was amazing!
What a lovely evening we had. Again, we ended with root beer floats and visiting with friends.
Sunday
Every Sunday morning at Hot August Nights features craziness for sure. We love to do scatter promenade which mixes the squares up.
At one point, Mike sang “Wooly, Bully” and a group in the back of the hall formed a chorus line. We ended with a congo line weaving our way to the front of the hall. Some of the dancers joined us. What fun! Here’s the link to the our fun chorus line:- https://www.facebook.com/larada.horner/
Sadly, Hot August Nights is over for another year! 20 years of fun and dancing! It is the highlight of the year for me!
Returning to my featured book of the month
Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter of Better?. The paperback is on sale this month for $9.80. Grab it today!
Finally,
I have dedicated 20 years of my life to Hot August Nights and I don’t regret it at all. Also, I have dedicated decades to my writing, so I love featuring a book a month. Tell me what you think!
My Newest Books
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Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book
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Buy My Audio Books:
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Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook
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