Our hostesses were Kathi Butt and Harli Thoene. We had hearts and candy everywhere. The "Famous Couples" tip was a fun mixer and had most of the dancers up dancing. Club members who helped set up for the dance were Wayne & Priscilla Griffin, Amy Bollenbach, Mary Raymond and Vivian and Bill Thompson. Special thanks to Bill and Viv who also opened and closed the hall and filled in as acting Club Chairpersons when Penny was sick. Also for all those who stayed to help clean up after the dance, it is much appreciated.

On Saturday March 9 at 8-10:30 PM, join us for our next BCS dance at the Infant Jesus Church, on Allds Street. This will be a Class dance with Matt Auger calling – no rounds. Our class will be hosting the dance with the support of Class Chairpersons Bill and Anne Parke. The theme is "Lion and Lamb". The Heel & Toe SDC will be raiding our banner at this dance. Setup time will be at the usual 12:30 PM Saturday, for anyone who is willing to help.

Amy & Katherine Bollenbach have volunteered for our June dance. It will be casual dress, the theme will be decided later.

On Saturday February 23, the class helped support a club banner retrieval at the Wolf Rockers class-level dance in Mason. BCS class dancers picking up another courtesy banner were Paula Finamore, Cecelia Kendig, and Joe McClintock. Charlie McCleod provided the calling for this dance, and visiting caller Ray Hilton from the Pepperell Squares in Biddeford, ME also called a guest tip.

The Phase 2 (September) Class has a very busy month coming up. Class dances, which are also club banner retrievals, are scheduled on Friday March 1 and Saturday March 2. Sign up now and join the fun of collecting our club banner as well as a class courtesy banner at these dances. As you can see from the schedule, there are a total of five class dances for the September class level before the end of March.

One of these class dances, on Saturday March 9, is the next Border City dance with the theme "Lions and Lambs". Remember that the class will be the hosts for the dance, which will be held at the Infant Jesus Church. Please see Anne or Bill Parke to sign up to help and volunteer ideas for decorations.

Phase 1 class members (those who began lessons in January) are also welcome to come to the dance, and experience the flavor of an evening of square dancing, at no cost. Any other clubs who have begun classes since January are also welcome to bring those class members along at no charge. At least one tip of easy beginner dancing will be available for these dancers.

Our new January class is moving right along! They are progressing smoothly through the call list, and seem to be enjoying themselves. Class badges are now available for the new class members – a few have already purchased theirs. The cost of a class badge is $5.50. This badge may be exchanged for a club badge when lessons are completed, at no extra charge. The charge will also be refunded if the badge is returned.

Monday March 18 is Border City’s annual St. Patrick’s Day dance. This dance is for all class and club members of all levels. The dance will run from 7:00 P. M. to 10:00 PM. Plan to come and enjoy a fun evening of dancing and socializing with other club members. Each person should bring finger food to share. As usual drinks and paper products will be supplied. The cost for the dance is $5.00 per person.

We would also like to offer a hearty thank you to all of the dancers, both club and class, who have been bringing snacks for the class nights. This is a tremendous help and provides variety beyond the meager imaginations of the class chairpersons.

Monthly Dancing Tips

• Dance as often as you can, to as many different callers as you can find.
• Dance with many different people as possible. Don’t always choose a square in which you know everybody. No one who loves square dancing will laugh at you or make you feel stupid if you make a mistake. We were all beginners once, too – and we still make mistakes!

• Plan to attend the 44^th New England Square and Round Dance Convention, April 26 & 27, in Sturbridge, MA.

February 9^th Saturday BCS Mainstream with 2 Plus tips Dance - Five clubs came for banners and accounted for 40 of the 52 guests/dancers. The Montachusett Twirlers (9 dancers) and the Apple Squares (7 dancers) retrieved their banners, and the Litchfield Swingers (11 dancers) raided our banner. The Firesiders canceled their raid. The Pepperell Squares (6 dancers) and the Winnipesaukee Squares (7 dancers) raided us by surprise. We hope to thank the Pepperell Squares and the Winnipesaukee Squares by returning the favor and attending a dance with each of these clubs.

February 16^th Saturday Raid to Concord Coach Class Dance - Canceled. We have their banner from our 12/15 raid.

February 23^rd Saturday Retrieval to Wolf Rockers Class Dance - They raided our January dance. Among the 6 squares of dancers enjoying Charlie McLeod's calling, were 19 dancers from BCS. Chris Howard, Cheryl Palucchi, and we carpooled 13 dancers to Mason. Thank you to the following dancers supporting this retrieval: Chris, Cheryl, Wayne & Priscilla, Preston, Steve & Lorri, Roberta, Hal, Amy, Katherine, Tammy, Anne-Marie, John & Valerie, Cecilia, Paula, Hank, and Joe McClintock. Two of our new dancers marched up for a courtesy banner. The Pepperell Squares and the Wolf Rockers each had 2 new dancers. The Pepperell Squares (Biddeford, ME) raided the dance and the Two Hearts As One club (Gardner, MA) retrieved their banner. What an unusual grouping of dancers (MA, NH, ME) to find all at the same dance!

Upcoming Raid and Retrieval Dances (also see Class Report & Full Calender):

March 1^st Friday Retrieval to Litchfield Swingers Fun Badge Class Dance - This class dance will be held at the Mill-A Round Dance Center in Manchester. Besides being a Class dance, Majestic Badge will be there for those who wish to get fun badges/dangles for the special tips planned for the evening. Chris Pinkham will be calling, and Marilyn Rivenburg will do the cueing.

March 2^nd Saturday Raid to Firesiders Class Dance - We are raiding the Firesiders with calling by Jerry Maruice and no rounds. They plan to retrieve their banner at our May dance.

March 9^th Saturday BCS Class Dance - The Heel & Toe SDC is raiding our banner at this month’s club dance. We are scheduled to retrieve at their March 16^th dance.

March 15^th Friday Retrieval to Single Squares Mainstream +2 Plus tips Dance - They raided our October dance with 15 dancers so when we only had 7 dancers at their November 16^th dance, we decided we needed to attend another of their dances. We hope to have at least 8 dancers for this dance which will have calling by Chris Pinkham and cueing by Barbara Strong.

March 16^th Saturday Retrieval to Heel & Toe Mainstream with Fast Track and Plus tips Dance - They are raiding our March 9^th dance. Matt Auger will be calling and Bernie Porter cueing.

March 23^rd Saturday Raid to Turkey Town Trotters Plus Dance - They are scheduled to retrieve their banner at our April dance. Dennis Marsh will be calling and Carol McGee will be cueing.

March 30^th Saturday Raid to Wolf Rockers Mainstream/Plus Dance - We hope to see them at our April, May or June dance. Jim Schell will be calling and Lila Heath will be cueing.

April 7^th Sunday Retrieval to Pepperell Squares Mainstream/Plus Dance - Dance is from 2 to 5 PM with early rounds starting at 1:30 PM. Their next dance after April 7^th is on November 24, 2002. They only hold 2 dances each year. Ray Hilton and "Happy" Harry Trott will both be calling for this dance and Sally Lennox will provide the cueing.

March to Early April Raids/Retrievals:

Club Banners We Have:                                             Clubs With Our Banners:

The January 6^th EDSARDA meeting was held in the afternoon at the Hayloft Barn in Sturbridge MA.

EDSARDA 45^th Anniversary - On April 7^th, a lunch and dance will be held at the Sturbridge Host Hotel (same location as this year's NE Convention). The time is noon to 4:30 PM. Choose either beef, chicken or fish for lunch which will be at 1 PM. Cost is $25 per person with RSVPs due by March 25^th. Calling at the dance with be Everett Mackin and cueing the rounds will be Pat Anthony. For tickets, call 603-888-5302 or 978-343-0755.

EDSARDA Meeting Changes - EDSARDA is changing its bylaws. First, the January meeting will only be held the first year the New England Square and Round Dance Convention is at a new location. There will be no January 2003 meeting because the convention will be held in Sturbridge in 2003 (2 years in a row). The reason given was that the primary purpose of the January meeting is for the convention committees to report on the upcoming convention. Since the convention is normally held in the same location for two years in a row, the need for a January meeting during the second year was made optional at the discretion of the Convention Chairperson and the EDSARDA President. Second, the October meetings will be Management Information Forums held every other year at the discretion of the EDSARDA President. EDSARDA is a 501c(3) tax exempt organization whose charter includes hosting educational events. The May meeting is still the annual meeting for the election of officers. Executive Board Member Meetings were changed from 6 to 4 per year. Revision of the bylaws is being made to reflect these changes.

Convention Information - Each of the numerous Convention committees gave a report. Single day registration of $15 for either Friday or Saturday (April 27 and 28) is available for those who cannot attend the entire convention. There will not be a convention program booklet this year, and no live music events are planned. From the 345 paid registrations, a New Hampshire couple won the drawing for the free hotel room.

Trail-in Dance - Thursday night April 26^th at the Host Hotel. Admission is included in your registration fee.

Tickets to Events - The Twilight Walk is sold out. 76 tickets have been sold for the Fashion Show but more are available. Only 7 tickets ($18 pp) have been sold for the Country BBQ so it is in jeopardy of being canceled. They need to sell 30 tickets by April 10^th so don't wait.

Meals - On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (April 26 to 28), there will be a breakfast buffet at the Host Hotel for $7.95 and an express supper on Friday and Saturday nights for $12.95. On Friday night at the Sturbridge Worship Center, a church supper of chicken brocchi alfredo ($10 pp) features live dinner music. There will be 2 seating times. Saturday, you can have a turkey dinner for $7 at the Federation church and be back in time for the Celebrity Hour at 7 PM. The phone numbers to call for reservations will be in your registration packages. Call early. The PTA plans to sell food at the Tantasqua Junior High School.

Halls - Eleven vendors will be in the gym of the junior high school. The Plus Program hall will be in the cafeteria (a tile floor). The Host Hotel will have the main hall and will be for Mainstream Program dancing. There will be round dancing between tips in the Mainstream and Plus halls. The Singing Call (Mainstream) hall and the Advanced Program halls are also in the Host Hotel. Dancing in the Advanced Program hall (A1, A2, alternating A1/A2) will depend on which callers sign up.

Round Dancing - On Friday night, the Showcase of Round Dances will feature 5 round dance couples/teachers presenting the dances they will be teaching on Saturday morning and afternoon. The phase 3 and 4 round dance hall will be in the Host Hotel. The phase 5 and 6 round dance hall will be at the Hayloft Barn.

Trail-out Dance - A fund raiser for the Square Dance Foundation of New England at the Hayloft Barn on Sunday afternoon, April 28^th. The cost is $5 pp. It's free to those who sign-up/renew their SDFNE membership for $10.

Next EDSARDA meeting - May 5^th Annual meeting and election of officers in Worcester, MA. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Wayne & Priscilla Griffin BCS EDSARDA Representatives