What a beautiful early spring day it is to sit outside and think about dancing at exciting big events in the coming months of summer.  Square dancing is the most fun I have ever had, period. I so enjoy my travels to square dance venues like Circle 8 Ranch in WA State, and to big and small festivals in Regina SK, Campbell River BC, Albany OR, Helena MT, Pendleton OR, Mt. Vernon WA, Lola MT, to name a few, and let’s not forget to give a shout out for the completely fabulous annual Pacific Northwest Teen Festival.  My love of square dance festivals started right here in Abbotsford when our region hosted the 2005 BC Square Dance Festival at the Agrifair grounds. I had only been dancing for 3 years at that time.  I was SO IMPRESSED with the chance to dance with people from all over BC and WA State, and to meet and dance to callers and cuers from all over as well. I was already starting to run a square dance club in the elementary school where I taught. I met Nick and Mary Anne Turner at the Festival that year, the authors/compilers of Moving and Grooving, a folk and square dance program for schools and community groups.  We became friends and I began promoting the M & G program to teachers and the BCTF. Dancing at the Festival opened my eyes to the wider world of Square Dancers that is out there. And, hey, it is still a kick to wear the outfit I sewed for that festival, featuring our raspberry themed fabric.
      So what is the thrust of this edition of my monthly article promoting BCFestival 2017? The fun you never knew you could have! A festival is like going on the rides at the fairgrounds when you are a kid. There is so much going on of all the things you love to do. The people are all happy. Everything you do is about the fun. And you can make some great new friends there, too. Not only will you meet people you’ll be so glad you got to know, but there will be some people there who turn out to be VERY pleased to have met you, too.
     Our Publicity and Promotion couple, Alex and Jean Galbraith, are working hard to get the word out to all the known world about BCFestival 2017. And they are counting on the rest of us to get excited and tell others about it. If you are behind the festival in principle, please register early. The venue payments need to be made out of those early registrations. We need money flowing in monthly to be able to smoothly meet our obligations. Apart from committee members, the first fifty registrants will be entered in an early bird draw for a free registration. Now there’s a good reason to register among the first 50.
     Yes, it is a beautiful early April day today as I write, one year and three months till BCFestival 2017. I am looking forward to it already! How about you?

     Walt Disney had a brilliant mind and one of the things he was so great at was marketing.  Disney’s marketing strategies are so successful that entrepreneurs everywhere study them and apply them to their own businesses. In this article, I look at promoting BCFestival 2017 through the lens of Walt Disney.
     The idea is perspective. I understand if you take a close look at Disneyland, you’ll realize that Disney used the concept of forced perspective to design the entire park to look bigger. How did he do this? Just like in a painting, where the size of things is adjusted to make them appear closer or further away, the sizing of trees and boulders on the Matterhorn is scaled, so the mountain appears bigger. This concept was used throughout their park.
     The members of the BCFestival 2017 Committee have a perspective that the Festival is a big project and an important event for Region 2, for BC, for Western Canada. We are proud to volunteer to put this on and we are going to pay attention to every detail and see it through to a rousing conclusion at the final dance on Saturday night, July 8. To the Committee for the next 16 months, working on the Festival is a big part of our commitment to square dancing, and to our enjoyment of our involvement in the activity.
      So BCFestival 2017 is big to us because we are committed to it.  Oh, look at the words committed, verb or adjective, and committee, noun. They are just about the same! I’d never thought about that before. A 'commit-ee' is someone who is committed to a cause.
      To a lesser degree than those on the organizing committee, every registrant to the festival becomes a “commit-ee,” meaning one who is committed to coming. I know you want to come, so I am asking you to register now!
“But Wendy,” you say, “I am not used to planning my life 16 months in advance.”
"Ahh, dear one," says I, "given the right conditions, however, you would do so." Consider scenario #1: If you have beloved relatives overseas and they are planning well in advance to come visit you, you will put them on your calendar. You might even mention it to family members who are still in the workforce, and they may well book their vacation to coincide with that visit. You might book a vacation rental in Tofino to ensure you get what you want. You might remodel your kitchen! Consider scenario #2: If you have a son, daughter, or grandchild planning to wed, they are very likely to be planning 16 months in advance, and you will be honoured to attend. You may go shopping for the perfect wedding gift, start looking for the right new suit or dress and shoes, go on a diet, even book your hairstylist appointment and manicure much further in advance than normal. 
     So deciding that it matters to register early is a matter of perspective.  And here’s a carrot, if you need one.  If you wait till late to register, not only will the price go up on Sept. 2/16 and Mar. 2/17, but also, your dancing preferences will not be counted in our program planning. We will be spending weeks working on those schedules and won’t be rushing any major changes at the last minute. Callers and cuers, too, to ensure your place on the program and to give us something more to brag about, we ask you to register early. And by the way, RVers, it really will put a wrench in the works if you leave it to register at the door. We can plan a spot for you only if you give us reasonable notice.
     Why NOT register NOW? “Well, Wendy,” you say, “I don’t know if I will fall ill. What if a terrific cruise drops in my lap or a grandchild is born? I don’t want to waste the money.” Yes, yes, that’s why the refund policy is there, and it gives you a generous window, up till May 15/17 to get all but $5 back for absolutely ANY reason. And here’s a tip: if you have a personal or family health or financial crisis after May 15th/17, trust me, we’re going to treat you real nice. I promise.
     Perspective. It makes all the difference. Just think about that half full/half empty glass and realize that YOUR glass is MORE than half full. In fact, it’s running over!