2024 Contra Dances

January 13, 2024: Hummingbird with Tom Wimmer calling! The band is Melissa Coffey (spaceship, woodwinds), Koren Wake (fiddle, viola de gamba), and Nick Leininger (guitar).

January 27, 2024: Riffraff with Noah Grunzweig (Portland) calling! The band is Lindon Toney (fiddle), Jesse Partridge (fiddle), Alex Sturbaum (guitar).

February 10, 2024: Hot Seat with Eric Curl calling! The band is Jesse Partridge (fiddle), Alex Sturbaum (guitar), and Julie Bennett (percussion), with friends Leah and Jeremy (fiddle and banjo) in the hot seat!

February 24, 2024: Riffraff with Elisabeth Monica calling! The band is Lindon Toney (fiddle), Evo Toney (fiddle), and Jesse Partridge (guitar).

March 9, 2024: Special afternoon dance with Dave, Hayden, Marni, and Julie, with Koren Wake calling! Our all-star band is Dave Bartley (guitar), Hayden Stern (fiddle), Marni Rachmiel (flute, saxophone), and Julie Bennett (percussion). Lesson at 12:30, dance from 1:00-3:30. This dance is part of Cascade Promenade, a series of dances along the I-5 corridor. Dance here in the afternoon and then head down to the Portland Megaband dance in the evening!

Friday, March 22, 2024: Squares and Lines, an evening of contra and square dancing at the Grange! Live music from One Dollar Whiskey (Brian Lindsay, Penka Jane Culevski, and Alex Sturbaum), with contra dances called by Lindsey Dono and square dances called by Suzanne Girardot.

Saturday, March 23, 2024: Contra Quartet with Valerie Cohen calling! The band is Jay Finkelstein (guitar), Steve Cifka (cello), Julie Bennett (percussion), and Jesse Partridge (fiddle).

April 13, 2024: Hayden and Patrick with Amy Wimmer calling! The band is Hayden Stern (fiddle) and Patrick Gunning (guitar).

April 27, 2024: Riffraff with Shannon Horst calling! The band is Lindon Toney (fiddle), Evo Toney (fiddle), and Jesse Partridge (guitar).

May 11, 2024: Olympia Volunteer String Band with William Watson calling! The Olympia Volunteer String Band is conducted by Jesse Partridge. This event is a benefit for the South Bay Grange. All are welcome to bring a dish to share for a community potluck 6-7pm.

May 25th, 2024: No Olympia dance - Contra dancing (and so much more) at the 53rd Annual Northwest Folklife Festival May 24-27. https://nwfolklife.org/festival This event is FREE to the public.

June 8, 2024: Dante, River, and Eros with Abigail Golden calling! The band is Dante Faulk (cello), Eros Faulk (fiddle, guitar), and River Scheuerell (fiddle, mandolin, guitar).