B.C. Festival 2019

This is a large 3-day dance convention called B.C. Festival 2019. Hundreds of dancers will be in Salmon Arm to enjoy several dance forms just for fun and learning. It’s non-competitive. Several buildings at the site will house square dancing, round dancing (choreographed ballroom) and clog dancing. On Thursday July 11, see the dancers at various locations on site from 1 to 5 pm and 7 to 10 pm. At 2:30 Thursday there’s a square & round dance in the main arena to all-Elvis songs, complete with an Elvis Tribute Artist and a Classic Car Show outside. Furthermore, Thursday at 6 pm is the Opening Ceremony in the main arena, featuring a Grand Parade of dancers, an exhibition by Metis Jiggers and a competition-level round dance display by a young couple. On Friday July 12 & Saturday July 13, the dancing starts at 10 am. For spectator purposes, most dancers will be present in the evenings. The Festival has its doors open to the general public throughout but on Friday July 12 & Saturday July 13 you can see the dancing as well as try a dance form of interest. Those are free Introductory Workshops and Community Dances. Select your dance lesson from the following or attend them all!… In Okanagan College building, adjacent the Shaw Centre: 10:00 am – Introduction to Clog Dancing (a shuffle step as low or high impact as you desire) 10:30 am – Introduction to Contra Dancing (lines of facing dancers moving across & up/down) 11:00 am – Introduction to Round Dancing (choreographed ballroom done to live cues) 11:30 am – Introduction to Square Dancing (teams of 8 form a square and interact to the caller’s commands) In the Shaw Centre arenas: Noon – 1 pm – Main arena – Line dancing (solo dancers form lines & move with various leg & foot actions) Noon – 1 pm – Hucul Pond arena – Contra dancing (lines of facing dancers moving across & up/down) In the Shaw Centre arenas: 5:00 – 7 pm (only to 6:15 Saturday) – An introduction to a mix of dance forms in each of the two arenas. No experience needed. – Admission by donation There’s a free special dance event for children from 1:30 to 3:30 pm Saturday July 13 called “It’s a Kid Thing.” Apart from learning some basic square dance moves, the children will party to fun dance tunes such as YMCA and the Macarena. Family members can certainly join in the dancing. Ages 8 and up are suggested. Those who see a dance style at the Festival that interests them to consider lessons in the fall, the provincial non-profit organization, the B.C. Square & Round Dance Federation, maintains a comprehensive list of lessons occurring around the province, usually in the fall and winter months. Those can be lessons in square dancing, round dancing, clog dancing or another, like contra dancing. Although the list is awaiting lesson details, it can be seen, with contact information for each entry, at: http://www.SquareDanceFun.info.