Ideas/Occasions

Virginia ReelA barn dance fits into almost any kind of celebration (and if that’s too informal, we can lead a Colonial or Victorian Ball). To jump-start your imagination, here are a few ideas that people have had in the past:

  • An elementary school sponsored a “Turn Off Your TV” week, during which the children and their parents discovered lots of active things to do together, and celebrated on the final day with a family square dance.
  • A museum, after hosting an exhibit with a pioneer/Western theme, treated the volunteer interpreters to a square dance party.
  • A trade association, on the first night of a week-long convention, hosted a square dance for the delegates and their spouses aboard a boat cruising Boston Harbor.
  • A middle school held an afternoon square dance for its graduating class on the last day of the school year. The students’ final history unit had been on the westward expansion of our country.
  • A historic house invited an early American dancing master and a solo fiddler to teach and lead dances of 1800 for a small group of guests.

And here are some of the types of events we’ve called at:

  • Weddings – including pre- and post-wedding parties
  • Anniversaries, birthdays, reunions, other family parties
  • School/PTA parties
  • Colleges and high schools – including international exchange students
  • College outing clubs, freshman orientation, alumni/alumnae and their children
  • Scouting events – including Girl Scout father-daughter dances
  • Church, temple, lodge, country club, sports and social club parties
  • Conventions, conferences, business meetings
  • Fundraisers
  • Barbecues, clambakes, hayrides
  • Town days, block parties, dancing in the park
  • Historical reenactments
  • Festivals, fairs
  • Hotel and resort entertainment
  • Company picnics, employee/volunteer/staff parties