Barefoot Bay Spinners

Barefoot Bay...Sadly, the Barefoot Bay Spinners have found it necessary to cease operations due to the lack of dancers, and we had no prospective new dancers. The Spinners were one of the few mainstream clubs that danced in the afternoon at Barefoot Bay and were active for many years. We advertised for lessons again this year and managed to only have one couple apply. We thank everyone who supported us in the past and wish everyone good health and good dancing.

Barefoot Bay Twirlers

Barefoot Bay...The Barefoot Bay Twirlers have ended dances for the summer and will resume dancing Monday, November 5, this year. The Twirlers dance plus level normally in Building A, Barefoot Bay, but our first dance on November 5 will be in building D & E due to election equipment being set up in Building A on Monday night. Our caller is Steve Ekin and we no longer have rounds due to the limited number of round dancers that attend. We thank everyone who supported us this past season and are looking forward to seeing everyone again in the fall. 

Brendon Squares

Geneva...March and April were fun filled months at Brendon Squares.

On Friday, March 2, we started our newest class. Our new students were not only able to dance with the club members that had come to angel, but they also had an opportunity get to know them better at the ice cream social that followed.

Ever been to a Pig Pickin Party? Two of our club members, Chuck and Sandy Meyers hold this annual event at their beautiful home. This year the party was held on Saturday, March 24. We were there from 10:00am until late evening. What a great time we all had. Chuck and Sandy provided a mountain of delicious pork and everyone brought a covered dish. The selection of food to choose from was overwhelming. We played games and enjoyed a wonderful day in the country. As the evening started to fall Don called a dance under the stars. What a fantastic day!

We brought March to a close by joining in the Founder’s Day celebration held at the Rural Heritage Center. As we have done in the past, our club worked together to cook and served BBQ, hotdogs and all the fixins. This year was a great success which allowed us to make a nice donation to the center

As the month drew to an end we all took a deep breath and started to prepare for our Spring Fling. We had two very special callers with us that night...Scotty Sharer and our own Don Whitaker. The dance was on April 21. We thank everyone that was able to come and dance to these two great callers.

We invite everyone to come and dance mainstream (and announced plus) with us each and every Sunday. We are located in the Little Red Schoolhouse in Geneva. For more information email brendawhitaker51@yahoo.com. See you there! 

Buttons & Bows

Lakeland...The first Membership Meeting, called for the Election of Officers and other business of the New and Improved Buttons & Bows Square and Round Dance Club, was held following a delicious potluck dinner, on March 27. Present were a record breaking number of old members, new members and interested visitors who proceeded to elect the following officers for the First Official Board of the above mentioned Club.

Jim and Sue Pier will serve as Presidents; Penny Green will be Vice President; Duties of Treasurer will be handled by Dave and Jen Ingram, while John and Lynne Scott will assume the Secretarial post. The large enthusiastic group present felt assured of a highly successful year ahead.

The balance of the bellringing evening was then spent with the talents of Caller Art and Cuer Charlie in charge. Come on by on the Second and Fourth Tuesdays of April and May and join the fun!

Under Sad News we must report the passing in March of Mary Jones, long-ago and still missed member; also Virginia Pembleton, until recent years, with her husband Homer, a sparkplug of the Oldest Square and Round Dance Club in Florida and still dancing in her heart.

L&D for B&B

Granada Squares

Ormond Beach...“Thirty-six” and counting. Granada Squares celebrated 36 years at a dinner, installation service, and dance, on Tuesday, April 3. The new officers are: Presidents, Fred and Sally Bond; Vice-Presidents, Terry and Terry Waibel; Secretaries, Jess and Fay Baker; Treasurers, Jay and Teri Peck; Members-at-Large Bill Reid, Judy Herman, Dee Browning, Steve Carter, and Past Presidents Larry and Judy Hines.

The installation service is always impressive. Just thinking about the responsibility in leading a club to fun dancing, fellowship with each other, and over all to keep the club before the community as a place people will find welcome, is not to be taken lightly. This world is filled with discord, broken relationships, an economy that is very unstable, and here we are with the best answer to joy in a fractured world. And the price is right, too!

We continue to have five to seven squares every Tuesday night, as well as accomplished round dancers as well. John Saunders, our Caller, and Dick Nordine, our Cuer, are a team that presents a dance to be remembered. And let us not forget those who line dance.

We’d love to have you with us as we dance around the floor. Put it down in your calendar, Tuesday nights at the Ormond Beach Senior Center. Refreshments are an added plus. See you here!

Jess Baker

Gypsy Squares

NSDCA Chapter 168

February...Gypsy Square and Square Wheels shared a fun filled March camp out at Suwannee Valley R.V. Resort at White Springs. Green was the color for the St. Patrick’s Day Holidays. The weather was beautiful and the Azaleas and Dogwood trees were in full bloom.

Activities started promptly at 10:00am with a craft show, music on the stage, enjoyable food and more. Many of the group visited the beautiful Stephen Foster State Park. After viewing the main auditorium displaying pianos used by Stephen Foster when he composed his famous songs, many of the dancers toured small cabins that offered a look into the past.

St. Paddy’s Day dinner was provided by the campground and was comprised of the ever popular corned beef and cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

Caller Bill Chestnut filled the evening with fun and frolic. Thanks Bill; you are the best! As we began our journey home we said farewell to this Suwannee Valley location, as our camp ground has been sold and will now be private.

Moving into April we will be going to Pacetti’s Fish Camp. Pacetti’s is located on the St. John’s River near Green Cove Springs. Nearby attractions include an Outlet Mall and St. Augustine’s famed historical “Old Town.” The famous St. Augustine Fort’s Square Wheels will be hosting their renowned Potluck dinner as well as their always delicious breakfast on Sunday morning.

Friday and Saturday night will be filled with fun and frolic as we dance to the calling of Bill Chestnut.

The merry, merry month of May finds the Gypsy Squares hosting at the Wild Frontier R.V. Park in Ocala. Could there be a Flea Market full of treasures in the Future? Do we need to consult a crystal ball to predict that?

Ann Dunsworth

Heel & Toe

St. Cloud...Heel & Toe had a great time dancing to Mike Sikorsky. We had some folks that traveled from Sun City to dance to Mike. They said they danced to him 40 years ago when Mike and this group of four were all teenagers. Glad to see them still dancing. The attendance was low, but everyone had a fun time. He made it fun, sorry you missed him. We had about ten folks come in that used to Square Dance years ago, but due to poor health do not dance anymore. They came to watch Mike Sikorsky, he has that effect on people. The next dance at Heel & Toe will be on Sunday, May 13 – the last one until the fall. See what you can do about attending. Keep Square Dancing alive!

Lili-Ann Gallagher 

Hoedowners
"Pairs & Spares"

Casselberry...Every Sunday afternoon, our club offers a variety of dancing – squares, lines and rounds – featuring Gene McCullough and Dick Nordine. Rod Barngrover often calls a tip, and occasionally Michael Craft will do a singing tip. We are fortunate to have these outstanding folks willing to share their talents with us.

Rod and Carol Barngrover have been busy scheduling and leading raids for the Hoedowners. Two squares, including Gene and Marty McCullough and Dick Nordine, raided Whirl & Twirl on March 21. On March 25, Garden Patch Squares, accompanied by Bill and JoAnn Boyd, raided us with two squares to retrieve their banner. We will be raiding Granada Squares on April 10 and Dixie Squares on May 3. What a great way to greet old friends and make new ones in our wonderful world of square dancing!

Hoedowners will host our annual Easter Dinner and Dance on April 8. Ronnie and Annette Rolfes have volunteered to donate the main entree of ham and members will be preparing side dishes and desserts. This annual event is very special to us and open to our dancing friends.

We are fortunate to have so much support from our members and dancing friends, and we keep them all in our thoughts and prayers. Many snowbirds have already left and others will be leaving soon and we wish them safe travels and a fun summer of dancing. Visit our website at www.hoedowners.net. Click on the camera to view the pictures posted by Michael Craft.

To enjoy fun dancing, snacks and good fellowship, come to our Sunday afternoon workshops and dances. We love to “sing-along” with Gene! See you Sunday! 

Hollywood Squares

Hollywood...Our St. Patrick’s Day dance was definitely “green!” Thank you to Norma Peak and Al Brundage for fabulous decorations including a beautiful display with “Puff-the-Magic Dragon” and one of Norma’s many famous cakes depicting the Loch Ness Monster! Caller Jack Lewis donned his leprechaun hat, garlands, beads, and shamrock glasses for an evening of Irish patter and Irish singing calls plus a “fun tip” of progressive squares.

Our Easter dance welcomed in the spring with dancers wearing their spring outfits, and Jack opened the first tip serenading with the “Easter Parade” singing call. Once again, beautiful decorations by Norma and Al – a beautiful forest display of Bambi and Disney friends, a fantastic Easter egg cake surrounded by chocolate bunnies and as always at every dance, our dancers supplement with goodies – no one goes home hungry!

Please come dance with us on Saturday nights in Hollywood at the Polk Street Shuffleboard Center! There is a C-1 tip 15 minutes before the dance followed by Advance dancing with Jack also cueing the rounds. You will be warmly welcomed and undoubtedly enjoy an evening of great dancing and fun!

We hope to see you soon – happy dancing!

Ray and Elsa Huddleston

Jackpot Squares

M 'n M Squares

Port St. Lucie...M ‘n M Squares wants to thank Treasure Coast Squares for bringing 17 dancers to our club for our first banner raid. Doug and Noreen Church were happy to organize this event between our clubs. They came on March 31st with caller Gib Mattson and his wife Marian. Gib called a tip that everyone enjoyed, Larry Chatos took requests on rounds and the floor was very full with dancers. The highlight of the evening took place when Treasure Coast Squares marched up to claim our banner. We don’t have a banner yet! So, Mike relinquished his shirt and badge. Good thing he had on a T-shirt underneath. Of course, it was an m&m’s t-shirt that read, “I’m the fun one!” After they stole Mike’s shirt, Ken and Gladys Gougeon presented Doug and Noreen with wooden square dancers with their names painted by the dancers. This was presented as a thank you token for all they do to promote square dancing. It was a fun evening and everyone had a lot of laughs. Now, we will plan to retrieve Mike’s shirt and badge before they close up their club for the summer.

Another big thank you goes out to all our dancers who helped provide refreshments that night and who continue to help provide goodies each night we dance. We really enjoy these delicious treats and appreciate the extra effort people go to when they bring them. Thank you for sharing these snacks with us.

M ‘n M Squares will be open May 5, 12, and 19 but we will close down for the State Convention in Lakeland on May 26. We hope everyone comes up to state to enjoy the fabulous dancing from our own callers and cuers of Florida.

Come join the fun,

M 'n M

Orange Blossom Squares

The Villages...Now that spring is here, The Orange Blossom Square Dance Club is blooming with new students. On April 16, fourteen students graduated from their plus class. A special ceremony was held in their honor and diplomas were issued to each student. A second class of students is about half way through the plus calls and should be graduating soon.

On March 24, our club sponsored a “Student Square Dance”. Students from our classes as well as students from the surrounding area were in attendance. This gave the students an opportunity to mingle and dance with the regular club members. There were a lot of smiles and laughter as everyone enjoyed dancing to caller Duane Rodgers. A fun evening was had by all.

Congratulations to Bruce and Roberta Troop who received special recognition and their badge dangle for completing 350 Banner Raids. Wow! What an accomplishment. Congratulations also to Carol Conrad who received recognition and her badge dangle for completing 5 Banner Raids.

Our callers for May are: Allen Snell on May 6, Charlie Pergrossi on May 13 for Mother’s Day, and Don Hanhurst on May 20. Joanne and Ken Helton are the round dance cuers. Due to the state convention, there will be no local dance on May 27.

Just a reminder that as of May 1, regular square dance attire becomes optional. With the warm weather just around the corner, we certainly want everyone to be comfortable while dancing.

Yellow Rocks,

Linda Sorensen and Ron Grove

Palm Bay Promenaders

Melbourne...Here we are in May, a great time for square and round dancers to get together. As summer approaches, we would like to point out that the Promenaders will be dancing every Thursday night as usual throughout the “quiet” season. So if you are in the neighborhood, why not drop in? A warm welcome and good dancing are guaranteed!

We have special dances throughout the year highlighting a holiday or themed refreshments. Our May program has a Mexican fiesta theme, and will be held on May 3. Red, white and green are the suggested colors to wear. Please see our website for details.

We would like to thank the area clubs which have joined and hosted us in many raids this season. These visits are fun and good for all.

Don’t forget the Paul Place Memorial Dance on May 5 in Plant City. Paul was one of the great Florida callers and is greatly missed.

Finally, let’s all get ready for the 58th Florida State Square Dance and Round Dance Convention, with a Mardi Gras theme, on Memorial Day weekend at the Lakeland Civic Center. It will be a great get-together, and we look forward to seeing all of you there!

We extend a sincere invitation to all to join us at any of our regular and special dances. We dance each Thursday at Tropical Haven (formerly known as Trailer Haven) Hall in Melbourne. Early rounds with cuer Bev Landwehr, and Mainstream and Plus square dancing with Dale McClary. Please visit our attractive and informative website at www.promenaders.org.

Marcia and Tom Kabaservice

Pine Ridge Promenaders

Lake Placid...The Pine Ridge Promenaders held their final dance of the season, Safe Travels, on April 5 with Sam Dunn calling. Five squares helped wish a safe journey to those returning to other homes in other places. We shall miss them all.

Two and a half squares danced at the Southern Lifestyle facility in March and were very well received by all the residents.

Our St. Patrick’s Dance with Russ Young had seven squares displaying their “green” and having fun as always. Sonny Mc Cartney, a newlywed, spun eight squares around the floor on March 22 while Mike Doughty called and Larry Chatos cued for our Student Nite Dance. Many experienced dancers attended and helped welcome the new ones into this great activity by “squaring up” with them. Nelson Wakeman proudly watched his students enjoying the evening.

The Annual Meeting on March 10 successfully wound up the Club’s business by electing the officers for the 2012-2013 Square dance Season. Congratulations go out to President Jim and Colleen Mooers, Vice President Lee and Jan Mullens, Secretary Jim and Carol Stoll, and Treasurer Faye Bachelor and Marguerite Ryan. We would also like to thank them for a job well done this past year as, yes, we are re-cycling our current officers and couldn’t be happier! The Banner Chairman, Jim and Diane Lucey, who are the Highlands County Reps for the West Coast Association, will ably assist them along with Carol Rogers who returns as Refreshment Chairman. We’ve lost count as to how many years she’s served in that position. The 50/50 Chairman, Jim and Maria Mallory will replace Emery and Mary Graves who have done that job so well forever it seems. Don and I will continue as Publicity Chairman. The Club made donations to the West Coast Association Scholarship Fund, the Potter House and the Samaritans’ Touch to complete the business at hand.

We wish all those returning to other places an uneventful journey, happy times once there and a safe return back to us on November 8 for our Salute to Veterans Dance with Sam Dunn. Looking forward to dancing with you again in the Fall, Yellow Rocks

Don and Marianne Reason 

Royal Squares

Sailfish Squares

Stuart...We’re sorry to see some of our snowbirds leaving already. We will miss you until next year and wish you all well for the summer. We’ve also had a few just down for a couple of weeks who came to dance with us and that was always fun to find out where they’re from and who came from there and maybe even danced with some of the same callers or cuers.

We welcome back an “old” (or should I say experienced) dancer who had a knee replacement and has done his physical therapy and is back to dancing with us. It’s Mark Tallman and I know Wanda is happy to have him moving again.

We had the Space Trackers club come and retrieve their banner in March and they brought about 12 people a long distance to pick it up. We all had fun dancing with them.

Now for some of you out there that want to learn to round dance, our own Larry Chatos will be starting a class for beginners on April 18. We will start at 6:30 for an hour until our regular plus dance with rounds in between. So please email Larry at LarryZcue@att.net if your interested or just come and join us.

Looking forward to seeing you in a square or round soon. If you want any information about us, you can look on our website at www.sailfishsquares.org.

The Sailfish Angler

Snell’s Bo’s & Bell’s

Dunedin/Largo...We had a very busy March in Pinellas County. Now April is starting already. The sad thing with the entrance of spring is the deserting of our northern friends. During April we say good bye most of them. Sorry to see them all go. Bryan Highland wrote a song a number of years back with words “though we gotta say goodbye for the summer...we will meet in September”. Of course the blank space all dealt with letters every day “sealed with a kiss”.

As the summer months approach, many clubs have a decline in dancers. That is why it is so important to support all the clubs close by. You can do banner raids or just show up for the dances. Naturally, Bow & Swing is the ideal location to find the other clubs with dates and times.

We are still planning our Thursday evening dance with a workshop and club dance with a mix of mainstream, plus, and rounds. We dance at the Hale Senior Activity Center in Dunedin. This is just across the street from the Blue Jays spring home and lots of good minor league games during the summer. Friday nights we kick off with early rounds and then the club dance is plus level. Location is the Largo Community Center in Largo. Everyone enjoys an evening of all singing calls. Join us May 11th and we will do just that. Oops, I better tell Allen of the plans. Just a note, since everyone will be at or getting ready to go to the convention, there will be no dance on Friday, May 25 (Thursday night in Dunedin is still a go).

A couple of picture should be close by this article. One is Norm and Edna showing their Irish side for St. Patrick’s Day and the other shows the winners of crazy hat night. And yes, Larry is wearing a hat.

Come join us any Thursday or Friday and we will see you all at the convention in Lakeland. 

Mike Cox

Space Trackers

Merritt Island...Elections have been held for our club and the installation of officers took place on April 5 during the evenings festivities. Our new slate of officers are: Terri Little, President; Jack and Barbara Hoffman, Vice Presidents; Dennis and Nancy Taylor, Treasurers; and Sue Schafer and Bill Magill, Secretaries.

Our Executive Committee this year is Clyde and Karen Smith, and Paul Taylor and Peggy Karpinski. We feel this is a great group of Leaders for the Space Trackers; the whole club is behind them 100%, as we are every year.

There are a lot of changes taking place at the Space Trackers Square Dance Club. We are trying to keep everyone aware of the changes. At the March 15 dance those members present voted to discontinue round dancing and the round dance lessons and to move the square dance lessons from Monday night at McLarty Park to Thursday night at the Presbyterian Church from 6:30 to 8:00 before the Club Dance at 8:00pm. This change will not affect any other functions of the club like banner raiding etc.

Mac McCall – remember my inviting you? We had two squares from other clubs and areas just for this dance. Some even came from Jacksonville and DeLand. Mac called his usual entertaining evening of fun. Our “teach” this year was Venus & Mars, I’m sure some of you oldies remember that call. It was fun. Mac and Phyllis are very proud of their grandson who just might be picked up by the Detroit Tigers Baseball Team. They are so proud of him!

Spaghetti night at the club in April was very well attended and for good reason, the spaghetti and meat balls, salad with garlic bread was yummy. For our Friendship Dinner on May 3rd we have planned a Taco Bar to celebrate Cinco de Mayo night so wear your red, white and green.

You should have been to the Black Kat Prowl we held at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp. We had a great time with a couple of funny skits, and relay or two and some really crazy square dancing. Plus one brave gal did try to call some tips – she really did a good job, too. My thanks to the callers that evening: Woody Coyle, who also did a fine job of M/C’ing, Gene McCullough from the Hoedowners, Richard Bradley from the Allemanders. The food at the Fish Camp was good too, if you like gator, shrimp, frog legs, I just had the cat fish bites myself, but the hush puppies were oh so good.

We are looking forward to our Mother’s Day Dance on May 10 as that is pie night, furnished by the men, of course. It will be interesting to see just who will actually bake their treat and who will let The Village Inn do all the baking.

Come join us with a Banner Raid. Just contact Woody and Mary Lou Coyle at woodymarylou@hotmail.com.  

Judy Anderson

Spinning Wheels

Tampa...April has come and gone and so has the last lingering snowbird. We only have one snowbird (that I can recall right now) in our club, but some visit on a regular basis. We will miss them and will welcome them back next fall when they return to sunny Florida.

It doesn’t happen very often, but on March 23 the Oak Grove United Methodist Church needed the hall that we rent from them. We didn’t want to miss a Friday night of dancing so about two squares of us visited the Sun City Center Swingers and brought their banner home with us. It was great fun. Especially so since the Temple Twirlers and Promenade Squares were also raiding. We got to dance with friends from three different clubs as well as our own. How’s that for a great evening of Square and Round dancing?

We celebrated Easter with an Easter Bonnet Dance on April 4. It was Good Friday instead of Easter, but that’s OK, we had fun anyway.

Our Cake Walk Dance was on April 27. I do believe that everyone got their fill of cake. We even had sugar-free cake for those of us who can’t (or shouldn’t) have sugar. It’s a good thing we were dancing, to work off some of those calories.

The Spinning Wheels will be celebrating our 42nd anniversary on May 4. That’s 42 years of good dancing fun and fellowship. We still have three of the charter members, Marie White, Al Ratlif and Helen Moskal, in the club. Of course Helen was just a kid then. Bet she danced with a lot more energy then, than any of us do now. You’re all invited to come help us celebrate our “birthday”.

We will have our Memorial Day Dance on May 18. That’s a little early, but we’ll be closed on May 25 so those who want to, can take part in the Florida Square Dance Convention.

On June 8 we’ll have a Tropical Spring Fling Dance. That’s a good time to dig out your island wear and come dance with us. Does anyone out there have a hula skirt?

We’re looking forward to visiting other clubs this coming summer and hope you all will come dance with us. 

Joyful Dancer

Sun City Swingers

Sun City...The Snowbirds have left for their summer homes, and just as we welcome them warmly in the fall, I’m sure dancers in their clubs “elsewhere” are delighted by their return.

Our Club members and frequent guests thoroughly enjoyed our March return to a more “normal” schedule. Not only did we have four Friday dances, but we danced on stage at our Community 50th Anniversary Fun Fest. An extra challenge for the two squares was a smaller-than-expected dancing space due to stage sets in place for a Performing Arts production. It is always HOT to dance under the stage lights, and we needed every ounce of sure-footed nimbleness we had to keep from flying into the third row or so on “roll-away” or similar calls. Robert Arias kept the audience and dancers happy with Singing Calls showing the variety of music in modern square dancing. Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, he led off with “Four Leaf Clover” and quickly followed it with “Pink Cadillac”. We all had favorable and amazed reactions from spectators later as we wandered through the crowd in search of...FOOD of which there were many tasty varieties. “I didn’t know you could square dance to modern music!” was an oft repeated phrase. Flo Byington, our Hillsborough County Representative, and her co-President of Temple Twirlers Cliff Reiss, came down by motorcycle to join the fun and dance with us.

The next Friday, to the calling of Art Springer and Cueing of Pat Hagen, we entertained three Raiding Parties: Buttons & Bows, Spinning Wheels and Temple Twirlers. On that Sunday, a gang of us went to the Ding-a-Lings to Retrieve our banner before they shut down for the Summer. On the following Tuesday, we held our Class of 2012 Graduation and welcomed 10 New Dancers to “Friendship Set to Music”. Several of these enthusiastic new dancers have already attended 2 Beginner Balls at Strawberry Square and...had a ball. Van Coble is such a fine Instructor, and Leah Micklatcher and her team of Angels were there helping every week since November. Graduating a Class takes a lot of dedication...from the Caller/Instructor, the Class Members and those who are there to help them. Clubs need all of them to survive.

April was not quite as busy, but still enjoyable, with Bob calling on the 6th and Art here for “Friday the 13th” Party and also on the 27th. Since Classes and Plus Workshops have ended until the Fall, we are now transitioning our newer dancers into the Friday night program. It is an adjustment for them, since our Classes/Workshops are held in the much smaller side rooms and now they are in The BIG HALL. We hope that those new graduates who are here all year will continue to develop confidence through their transition period with us, and that those who are Snowbirds will likewise avail themselves of dancing opportunities “elsewhere” until they return.

The important points to know about May actually hold for the next several months. We Dance Year Round! We Dress Casual from May 1 through September 30! Our Hall has a beautiful wood floor AND is air conditioned! We dance EVERY Friday all summer (unless there is a Hurricane nearby) AND we will have the SAME great Staff! Bob Ellis calls on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays; Art Springer on the 2nd, 4th Fridays. Pat Hagen Cues on All Fridays. We hope those who spend all or part of the summer months in Florida will come dance with us!

Gail & Ron

Suncoast Squares

St. Petersburg...Hello from the Suncoast Squares your GBLT Square Dance Club in St. Peteresburg. Our Pride fund raiser benefit night is June 26. The big pride event is Saturday June 30 with street parade and street festival on Central Avenue. Our club will have a free fun night July 10 with open lessons on the 17th, 24th, 31st of July. August 7 we start the new mainstream class that runs until mid January 2013. All  dancing events are at the King Of Peace MCC Church in St. Pete. Visit us on the web at www.suncoastsquares.com.

Roger Ritter, President 

The Twirlers
Formally, Oak Run Twirlers

Ocala...“March has been an up and down month for us, to say the least. Losing our hall at Oak Run, our board and officers started a search for a new hall and hopefully, close by.

We had our last Dress/Party Dance on March 5. Club colors (purple and white) were the order of the day. Then, on March 12, we had our last dance at the Orchid Room at Oak Room. It was certainly a fun time with lots of food (what else is new?), to eat and snack. That’s the sad news.

Now for the glad news! Through the efforts of a number of people in the club, a new dance hall has been found. It’s in the Ocala West United Methodist Church, 9330 SW 105 Street, off SR 200. If you are coming from Oak Run to the new church, go east on SR 200 until you get to the light situated at Pine Run. Make a U-turn and go to the Shell Gas Station (105 Street) and make a right. Drive down to the church and enter the 2nd driveway and drive to the parking lot. Enter the building at Stanfield Hall. Need more instructions, call either Ray and Marci at 352-237-4244, or Walt at 352-854-9378.

Monday remains the same as does the hours, 12:30pm for the class and 2:00pm for dancing and rounds. And, happily, the caller Whit Brown and cuer Bev Landwehr remain the same. Our first dance here on March 26, went well, despite some last-minute construction inside.

Our picnic went well on April 2. We hope that you can make the next one, next year at Rainbow Springs State Park.

We had a banner raid on April 20, down to Sunshine Promenades. Had a fun time, as usual. On May 21, we host our neighbors from On Top Of The World. Always look forward to that one.

For the future, our name will change to THE TWIRLERS, until a final decision can be reached.

Don’t forget the upcoming Florida State Square and Round Dance Convention, down in Lakeland. The dates are May 25-27. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Hope to see you in our new home.”

Thank You,

Walt Lamp 

Whirl & Twirl

Orlando...We hope you all had a joyful Easter Sunday. Remember your friends and club members who may be experiencing health or personal issues. Please keep them in your prayers.

Caller Whit Brown’s 15-week Mainstream class ends this month. Graduation and club initiation will take place on May 2 and 9, respectively. Joannie and Stephen Skellie did a great job in coordinating this class of 20 students. We welcome the new dancers to our dance floor. Whit is planning another Mainstream teach class starting August 7. The square dance clothing Recycle Sale ended in late March and raised nearly $800 for the club. We always have a clothing sale about the middle of each class teaching Mainstream.

The CFA Party Weekend at Deerhaven Retreat in Paisley happened April 20th through the 22nd. This event benefited the upcoming 2012 State Convention later in May.

We took 32 club members to Geneva’s BrenDon Squares on late March and had a great dinner afterward at Macaroni Grill in Oviedo. BrenDon Squares’ Don Whitaker always calls a fun dance and their food spread is amazing. May 14 we are scheduled to raid the Royal Squares in Clermont/Leesburg. Please call or contact Lisa or Bill Rigsby at bill@rigsbybrothers.com to schedule your raids.

April 11 and 13 we held our annual Hobo dances in recognition of the tax deadline (you did pay on time, didn’t you?!). The homegrown stew was very tasty. April 15 we all gather at Ft. Christmas Park for the club’s annual fund-raiser picnic with great potluck food and hotdogs, sausage, and hamburgers grilled by Danny Courtney and Co. followed by a White Elephant auction. Auctioneer Jack Frye takes great delight in getting us to blow our money on stuff we may or may not want to take home. This fun event always adds to the club’s bottom line in a very positive way. On April 23 we were pleased to have Mike Sikorsky, a national caller from Arizona, call another challenging Mainstream dance for our Central Florida dance friends. What energy he has! Mike was voted the Most Entertaining Caller in the Southwest at the first-ever Ozzie Awards held in Las Vegas.

On Friday, May 11, we will have Mainstream with announced Plus dancing after our annual Luau potluck, general meeting, and election of new officers for the 2012-2013 term. The current board, led by Bob and Ginny Osborne, has done a great job in guiding the club over the last 12 months. The new board is a good mixture of talented people with the common interest of promoting square dancing as well as ensuring the continued success of Whirl & Twirl.

Special Events directors Linda and Danny Courtney and many, many volunteers are finalizing the special festivities and dances in celebration of Whirl & Twirl’s 50th anniversary this June 1 and 2. We will be closed to the public Friday the 1st of June for a members-only celebration. Saturday night, June the 2nd, we are pleased to have Jet Roberts call a special dance for our community of dancers and friends. Jet is an international caller from California. Ribbons are available now so come and help us celebrate!

Whirl & Twirl square dances Mainstream each Wednesday evening. Whit conducts an early workshop and then there’s line dancing between tips. Each Friday we dance Plus with early rounds cued by Jan Shankle. Jan also teaches a beginning round dance class each Thursday night. Give her a call for details. For more information, photos and videos, and a 3-month running calendar of upcoming events, please visit our very informative home page at www.whirlandtwirl.org.

Ray Helmuth

Wrangler Country Squares

Barberville...The Wrangler Country Squares enjoyed some great dances and exciting times at the Pioneer Art Settlement in Barberville. Our student class is still continuing on with their lessons and having a great time with the regular dances after their lessons. They have been joining us each week as the regular dance starts and they have enjoyed the line dancing that Rod has been teaching us, including Red Neck Woman that he worked the choreography himself.

Our club is growing with 14 official members, with our newest members being Dave and Elizabeth Garrett. Welcome and YEE HAAA!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Holiday with family and friends.

Some of our visitors who danced with us through the winter have now gone back to the north and we wish them safe travels and can’t wait to see them again in the fall.

We are all looking forward to the State Convention this month during the last weekend in May and our very own caller; Rod Barngrover will be calling for the very first time so our club will not be dancing on Friday, May 25, as he will be on the stage in Lakeland. I hope we get to see you all there for a great time with dancers from all of the state.

We dance at the Pioneer Art Settlement in Barberville, Florida every Friday night. Student lessons are from 6:30 to 7:30pm.

The club dance starts after lessons with 50/50 and door prize drawings each week. We dance mainstream and plus with breaks in between the square dance tips with line dancing and round dancing. Casual dress including your Wranglers and cowboy boots or traditional square dance attire is welcome here at the Wrangler Country Squares. We welcome one and all to come on out and enjoy the atmosphere of dancing, great fellowship and laughter and enjoy our refreshments and Lite Dining including a different homemade soup each Friday Night.

Remember the Wrangler Country Squares will not be dancing Friday, May 25, as we will be at the State Convention down in Lakeland. We will have our next dance the first Friday of June as we begin the summer months of dancing.

Until I see you in a square, round or line sending you all a big “Yellowrock” 

Carol Barngrover
aka, Yellowrock Country Girl

Yellow Rock Squares

Daytona Beach...March started off with a great Demo, only to be followed with the illness of our caller’s taw, Marilyn Yates. She is now back on the mend, and we could not be happier to see her back with us. We’ll have another Demo in May. This handicapable club is excited to be going to Charleston in July. This will be our 13th National Convention, each one being unique, as they are held all over the U.S.A every two years. Come dance with us any Sunday afternoon, angel for us as we get ready for our Convention. Call 386-235-3273 or 386-736-4524 for directions to the ARC building in Daytona, and to be sure we are dancing that Sunday.

Jean Hitt

Webmaster Bruce Morgan