The crowds were huge, the audience enthusiastic and a few joined us in a little dance of their own. We had such a good time!
While we’re been able to do a few demos over the last couple of years, it was a special treat to be back at the Fest which had itself been quiet for the past two years. Sadly, we hear that it may be the last one in Turners.
Of course, with masks and in the parking lot! I’m not sure who was more excited — the residents of the Center or the team members to once again enjoy each other’s company – albeit at a distance – but company nonetheless.
The smiles under those masks were very very obvious on both sides of the distancing spaces!
The team works hard — we work hard because it’s fun, we enjoy each other’s company, we love the thrill of memorizing new dances and step routines (they say it’s good for our brains too!). We work hard so that we can perform a 50 minute different routine each year in order to bring joy and company and smiles to residents of Senior housing. Pre-pandemic, and we plan post-pandemic, we perform upwards of 50 times a year at several local housing venues, not to mention the parades!
And, this year, in particular, we know how isolated our seniors have been —
For a few months in the summer, we practiced on the driveway of our teacher’s home; recently we have been able to practice in a pavilion on a lovely piece of property and even a town common.
We so look forward to doing more demos. Keep dancing in your own homes! It brings smiles, I promise you that!
No one will be surprised to learn that COVID has had our team out of practice time and space as we all sheltered at home. A few of us are now practicing in our teacher’s driveway, and we are very much looking forward to seeing you at an event in the not so distant future and dancing for you!
Here’s the teach and demo by Pat of Half Past Nothing!
For those of you not on the team, enjoy, give it a try, and next time we see you at an event, you can join us on the dance floor after our demo!
Happy Holidays from the North County Line Dancers!
For us, we continue to practice a routine for the holiday demos we give at residences for our seniors. We take some dances that we know well and set them to Holiday tunes, and enjoy ourselves!
We encourage our audience to sing along to the songs they know – and they do. Just the other day, I noticed that their voices were almost louder than our music!
Here’s a great picture of us from just this past week when we went to the Holyoke Soldier’s Home to entertain some of the veterans that live there. We enjoy all of the places we go, of course; however, the extra smile is knowing that we are saying thank you, in our own little way, to these men and women who served our country in this way!
Happy Holidays! May yours be filled with music, song, good friends, and of course, dancing!
The Big E — it’s BIG! Take one look at the photo on this page, and you have just a little taste of the size of this place and the thousands that attend it!
They had their largest attendance ever – 1, 639,527 people! What does that mean for us? We are thrilled to be invited and to dance at such an event. We always do our demo in the New England Center, where you’ll find the home of the 4-H, as well as the most amazing pieces of handwork and quilts!
We did really well, the weather was a perfect late summer day, and we had a pretty decent sized audience, with a couple of toddlers who are always happy to bounce along to the music with us!
North County Line DancersA little blurry, but you get a sense of how fast our feet do go sometimes!
We generally go down a little early and enjoy the Fair ourselves – we take in some of the sights such as the famous butter sculpture, eat some fair food (baked potatoes and tater tots are some of the favorites), and maybe even get a little life advice!
We’re not done with 2019 yet though!! Stay tuned for more as we switch to our Holiday programming – learning new dances to holiday music and entertaining at several of our local Senior Housing Centers in the month of December!
A few photos from the parade and fair so far this season:
“Sunshine Makes the Good Times Grow”Friends and Family ride the back of the float to toss candy and wave and support us!Franklin County Fair Fun!Franklin County Fair 2019
And, a note of appreciation arrived today that we’re proud to receive! Several times a year, with a program of mixed music and dancing, and then another program at holiday time with holiday songs, we provide an hour of dancing demonstration for many Senior places. We might go to day programs, or assisted living and everything in between, including the Veteran’s Home. It’s a real favorite of ours. One of the members of our audience recently passed away, and we received a lovely note from her son:
“You, and the North Country Line Dancers, were one of the highlights in my view, of the GVNA entertainment offerings, based on what she had said about her experiences there. These GVNA events were something I could not have done for her despite my efforts to keep her entertained!
So I am very grateful for your thoughtfulness and engagement with my Mom. Long Live the North Country Line Dancers!”
It makes us proud and glad to work so hard to memorize dances, practice every week, and be super tired some days as a result, knowing that we make a difference, even just for an hour!
Western Massachusetts wouldn’t be itself without the many country fairs!
You can find us at these events! Come and watch! Clap and stomp your feet along with us! Watch us while you eat your fried dough, huge donuts and your other favorites!
We’re fairly busy this time of year with demos at local Senior Housing and assisted living centers.
One of our favorite events is in Readsboro, Vermont where we join the parade, and do a demo on their pavilion stage and enjoy their chicken bbq!
And, just as enjoyable and a real honor and privilege to entertain some of nation’s veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers Home! We met a friend, Althea, who was once a line dancer and a soldier – joining us here in our group photo!
And, here are a few of our audience members, who clapped, and hollered and danced in their chairs!
Here’s a couple of pictures from the Franklin County Spring Parade. The theme was Magic and Santa agreed to come down from the North Pole to get a little sunshine. Although I believe he brought a little of the cold air with him, as we had to wear long sleeves under our outfits to stay warm – even though we were dancing, it was a bit chilly!
We won a First Prize Ribbon as well!
Welcome to Turners Falls, Santa and company!
This past Saturday, we danced at Elaine Manor, in Hadley, where we had a huge crowd of enthusiastic seniors! It was our first demo with our new dances this year — let’s just say we all agree we could use a bit more practice! Oh me oh my oh!
