March 2017 Update

BC Festival 2017 in Region 2                                                                                            Thurs. to Sat. July 6, 7, 8, 2017
By Wendy Krueger, Co-Chair                                                                                           VENUE: Cloverdale Rodeo Grounds
Here we are in March, only 4 months from our provincial FESTIVAL! I love the anticipation of a great event. I looked back at my first article about BCFestival 2017 which was published in the Valley Circle in September 2015 and I recall looking up “festival” in an on-line dictionary. Remember? This is what I reported:
FESTIVAL [fes-tuh-vuh l]   1. time of celebration marked by feasting and ceremonies or other observances, like dancing; 2. periodic commemoration, anniversary or celebration with dancing; 3. a period or program of festive dance  activities, cultural events, or entertainment; 4. joyous merrymaking, ie. dancing
 
It occurs to me that no one challenged my assertion that this is, in fact, an actual dictionary definition. The fourfold inclusion of “dancing” might have tipped someone off. But not square and round dancers.  Nuh-uh. For us, dancing is fun, dancing is a celebration of health and life, dancing is entertainment, dancing is all those things.
 
The big planning decisions have largely been made for this festival, except for programming. What is programming? Programming is the levels of square and round dancing that will be offered over the three days of the event, and who is calling and cueing when and where. By looking at the levels and phases that people indicate are their top choices, our programmers will be dividing up the 75 hours of floor time to give the most people the most dancing pleasure possible. Where do I get 75 hours from? Well, it’s 32.5 hours in Shannon Hall, 32.5 hours in the Alice McKay building, and another 10 hours in the Cloverdale Recreation Centre. That’s a lot of programming. So please get registered soon, soon, soon. I can see from reports of past festivals that It doesn’t work out well when a large group of dancers wanting a particular level of dancing leaves it till the last 3 months to register. Halls need to be allocated for the numbers, so please help us get it right by registering quickly. Thanks to those already registered!
 
So maybe there’s a little time now to consider theme colours and maybe some fabric in those colours for a new outfit. As you may have gathered the colours are aqua and tan, and they do look so nice together. The festival décor will have a rodeo or western theme, and I noticed on line that southwest décor uses aqua and tan very effectively. I have gathered a few images of fabrics from the internet and put them on the BCFestival 2017 website, entitled Aqua and Tan sampler. Some of this fabric is upholstery fabric, not so suitable for clothing.  The one called “painted desert diamond print” is quilting material, 100% cotton. Close up it looks especially nice. Purists will say it is more teal than aqua, but that doesn’t bother me. I have ordered a metre and a half, not enough to make a whole dress with, but enough to use on the gores of a skirt alternating with solid tan. You can find it on etsy.com.
 
And the last thing I would like to mention for this month is food and beverages at the festival. The venue has a catering service that handles food for events and there are varied food choices available right there on site. Grilled choices like burgers and fries are cooked to order, and lasagnas and sandwiches and salads can be chosen and ordered in advance. There will be lots more information about this in your registration package, but for example, if a minimum of 15 people order the “officer’s lunch”, for $12.95 you get a deluxe sandwich on artisan bread, vegetables and dip or chef’s choice salad, dessert squares, and a soft drink, water, or juice.
 
I leave you with the same message as every time. Please register early as you can and ask all of your friends to do so, too. A great time is just around the trail’s bend!