Welcome to the
Spokane Folklore SocietyContra Dancing in January  The
Spokane Folklore Society is celebrating the New Year with four contra
dances scheduled for January. Our usual first Wednesday dance has
been moved to the second Wednesday – January 8. Karen Wilson Bell
will offer a range of contra dances with Banna Damhsa playing fiddle,
harps, and flutes.
The second
Saturday dance at the East Spokane Grange on January 11 features Emily
Faulkner from Sandpoint calling New England style contras with the
accordion driven Reel Friends. New admission rates are as
follows: $12 for General Admission and $9 for SFS Members. The
evening will begin with an hour long waltz workshop taught by Cathy
Dark. While Cathy will begin with a review of the basic waltz
step, she will focus on turning waltz. Each couple turns around
each other while moving in a circle around the hall.
The third Wednesday dance on January 15 features our
favorite Jam Band with nearly 20 members. Special for this dance,
they will play Petronella and Green Mountain Petronella. Penn
Fix, host for the evening, will call this time honored New England
Chestnut dance.
This very full month of
dancing finishes with a special fifth Wednesday dance on January 29
celebrating the Lunar New Year. Join in the festivities.
Wear red. It is good luck! Nora Scott will call contras and
the River City Ramblers will provide hard driving old time music.
New Second Saturday Admission Rates
For
the past two years, admission rates for the second Saturday dances have
been the same as our Wednesday ones even though they are an hour
longer. Because our bands and callers have been paid about the
same for either Wednesday or Saturday dances during this time, the SFS
board has decided to the SFS board decided to increase the guarantee
for callers and musicians in order to align more fairly with three
hours of dancing. In order to cover these additional costs, the
board has increased admission rates by $2 per person. New rates
are $12 for general admission; $9 for SFS members. We want to
thank you in advance for supporting this change. Our musicians
and callers deserve this increase in their stipends. Admission
rates for our two hour Wednesday dances remain the same, $10 for
general admission and $7 for SFS members.
As
a result of a recent poll of SFS members, there will be no Covid
protocols in place until further notice. Good health is
required. Masking is respected.
2024 Fall Folk Festival photos and video samplers are at this link...
Membership Information:
It is time to renew your SFS membership. If
you are joining for the first time, your membership will help to fund
the operations of the SFS. In addition, you will receive $3 discounts
at our Wednesday dances. Also, you will receive our monthly newsletter
as well as any updates and announcements. You can join by accessing the
membership form through the following link. Link for a full year membership Fill it out and mail it
in with a check.
Newsletters Archived on SFS Website
Older editions of the
Spokane Folklore Society Newsletter can be found on the SFS website
starting from September 2020 (link at left). There are some great
articles to read.
Starting in September we added several feature columns to the
newsletters. Please enjoy our Callers Corner featuring articles by all
our regular callers.
Forty Years Ago showcases some of the people and events that were
highlights of the early years and got the SFS started on its path to
success. Penn Pals is a column where Penn Fix interviews people that
have been instrumental in starting and keeping folk traditions alive in
the Spokane region.
Current Newsletter
And now some of our older newsletters are available as well
We can help you get in touch with
other people in the
Spokane, Washington, area who are interested in music, dance, and folk
arts. Find out what's happening
on the calendar
Our major project of the year is
the
Fall Folk Festival.
One of our main
activities with SFS is Contra
Dancing. Contra dancing is a type of traditional
dance from
New England. Dancers face each other in "contra" lines and move up and
down the formation as couples in figures directed by a caller. The
Virginia
Reel is a dance in this style. You don't have to be experienced - the
caller
teaches all the moves. Special clothes are not necessary. No partner is
needed - Singles and couples are invited. Check the calendar
for the contra dance schedule. Click
here more details and some pictures and links to video of a
typical local Contra dance.
If you are interested
in having the Folklore Society help
sponsor your event, please download this .pdf
form
here. (Acrobat reader required)
If this is your first
visit to our site, please read
more about the Spokane Folklore Society: its organization and
mission.
We hope that you will join
us,
and subscribe to our monthly newsletter. 
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