Dances run regularly through the school year, Sept-June.
Beginner’s lesson: 7:30PM. Dancing: 8:00PM unless listed otherwise.
Location: Cesar Chavez School Gym, 1510 W 14th, in Eugene (Google Map) (Directions).
No Partner or experience needed!
Families are Welcome!
Bring soft soled shoes that won’t mark the floor.
Cost: $6 for members, $7 general. Arrive by 7:30 PM and get $1 off admission. Students with ID get another $1 off. First time dancers can get a couple for free admission to their next dance. When the turn in that coupon, they may receive a 50% off coupon for their next dance.

EFS also hosts two camp "retreat" weekends for contra dancers:

Cascade Contras: A full weekend for contra dance enthusiasts, Cascade Contras takes place each April at SKY Camp (the Springfield Kiwanas Youth camp) on Fall Creek Reservoir. The camp offers two full evenings of contra dancing, four contra dance workshops with live music, and a set of other music, dance, and calling workshops. Our special kitchen staff prepares all meals on-site: a snack Friday evening, breakfast, lunch, and dinner Saturday, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. Campers may select from shared bunk cabins, with perhaps six campers per room, or may bring their own tents or campers/trailers.
Midsummer Madness: Midsummer Madness offers a low-key dance retreat for contra dancers, families, and friends. The event takes place the last weekend of July in odd years (appropriate for this "odd camp"), at Camp White Branch, off the old Cascades highway, near the headwaters of the McKenzie River. The camp offers three sessions of contra dancing (Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday morning), and opportunities for daytime recreation, including a swimming pool with diving board, and "the dreaded water slide." The regular camp kitchen staff prepares meals on-site: breakfast, lunch, and dinner Saturday, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. Campers may select from a set of cabins or bunkhouse beds, or may bring their own tents or campers/trailers. For more information, you can check out the 2009 flier and registration form.

EFS Contra Dance Calendar — Sept-Dec 2009

We now have a full-page poster / flier available with the fall contra dance schedule. (200kB PDF)

Saturday, September 12th: Three-Fingered Jack with Stacy Rose: The band Three-Fingered Jack only formed at the beginning of 2008, but the musicians all have many years experience playing for dancers. Bruce Marbin plays guitar and bouzouki, Shari Ame plays fiddle (and teaches Celtic fiddle in her “free” time), Beth Brown plays cello and whistles, and Laureen Urey provids a driving rhythm with her bodhran.
Stacy Rose of North Bend, a regular caller at dances on the south coast, will call an evening of contra dance that will delight both contra novices and enthusiasts. A longtime folk and contra dancer, Stacy also plays hammered dulcimer and whistle with The Bumbling Buskers.
Saturday, September 26th: Bo Leyden, Abby Young, and Dave Young with Woody Lane: Bo will drive all the way up from Ashland for the pleasure of playing dance music with hot young fiddler Abby Young, and her father Dave. This will be their Eugene dance debut.
Known for his smooth contras, fast squares, and superb programming, Woody Lane calls extensively throughout the Pacific Northwest and has a growing reputation throughout the country. Also an accomplished clogger, he often accompanies the band as a foot percussionist, raising the energy level on the dance floor to wonderful heights. He has brought his exciting brand of calling to dances from Alaska to Florida to Boston, and has done many calling tours around the U.S.. He has also been on staff at many music and dance camps, including The Corvallis Dance Weekend, Fiddle Tunes, Lady Of The Lake, and Cascade Contras.
Saturday, October 10th: Joyride with Joyce Miller (CA): Take a ride with these longtime Portland contra dance musicians as they lock into four-wheel turbo-drive atop the hall. Sue Songer’s swinging piano and Jeff Kerssen-Griep’s flywheel guitar syncopate the pistons; Kathleen Towers’ hot fiddle carves expert curves through the tunes while Erik Weberg’s fluid flute, punchy harmonica and stunning bombarde season the wild ride. Known from B.C. to the Bay Area for its lift-y arrangements and innovative universe of “borrowed” (heh heh) Northern and Southern tunes -- including a few careening two-fiddle old-time sets -- Joyride excels at matching tunes with dance moves for maximum positive zoom. Expect to grin, flow, levitate, swing and howl!
Joyce Miller visits us all the way from Grass Valley, California, where she is known for her sparkling with and clear calling.
Saturday, October 24th: The Nettles with Lynn Ackerson (CA): The Nettles are well-known on the West Coast for their original approach to contra dance music. Playing traditional music from all over the world, The Nettles create a strong rhythmic groove under soaring improvisations. Rhythmic drive and melodic fluidity allow The Nettles to propel contra dances into the stratosphere.
Lynn’s huge collection of dances (including over 800 contras) keeps growing as she tries to keep the dancing fresh and interesting even for long-time dancers. This Spring, she’ll be calling at two weekend camps in the Bay Area (Monte Toyon and Balance the Bay), a festival (NEFFA) and various dances in New England, along with various west coast dances. In the summer, she’s on staff at two weeklong camps for the very first time: Folklore week at Mendocino, and American Dance and Music Week at Pinewoods. Even while all of these events are going on, she finds time to attend other dance weekends as "just a dancer" to keep remembering the joy that is found in the dancing and the music.
6:00 pot-luck at Jacque’s home, 200 E. 39th, 302-2628
Thursday, November 12th: Wild Asparagus with George Marshall: The most-toured and best-known contra dance band in the country, Wild Asparagus has delighted dancers for decades. Caller George Marshall plays in the band, so ensures that every dance gets matched with the best choice of tunes. Tonight’s talent comes all the way from Greenfield Massachusetts to perform for your dancing pleasure. They will move on to the Danceable Feast weekend, and provide a post-weekend encore in Corvallis.
Note that this dance starts promptly at 7:30, and ends at 10:30 instead of the usual 11:15.
Special Price for this dance: $10 members, $12 general public.
We have a special poster for our Wild Asparagus dance.
5:30 pot-luck at Ken & Jane’s home, 912 Van Buren, 344-7615
Saturday, November 14th: NO DANCE: (Dance Thursday instead)
Saturday, November 28th: The Steeltones with William Watson: The Steeltones are another new combination of experienced Portland dance musicians. Dave Hamlin is best-known for his crisp mandolin playing in Full Moon. Keith Moe plays fiddle in several Portland-area bands, including Hands4. Jon Neff plays guitar, mandolin, and bass in the Portland Megaband, and has played for dances for at least a dozen years.
“William Watson, a resident of Eugene, danced his first contra in 1989 and began calling in Texas in 1992. Having called numerous contra events in 18 cities coast-to-coast, William’s extensive experience and soothing voice project a calm confidence. His vigilant and thoughtful dance programming ensures a variety of figures, transitions, and sequences to entertain and support new dancers while offering the occasional challenge for the more advanced. His calling proficiency and sensitivities ensure everyone has a good time.”
6:00 pm Pot-luck at Barbara's, 1450 Quaker, 541-345-8903
Saturday, December 12th: CDGH with Gordy Euler: This dance will be held at Roosevelt Middle School, 680 East 24th Avnue.
The dual-city quartet CDGH consists of Corvallis residents Creighton Lindsay on guitar and wife Deborah Lindsay on percussion, and Portland Residents George Penk on fiddle (one of the Pacific northwest’s least-known and most skillerful musicians, and a heck of a nice guy) and wife Heather Pinney providing a solid piano foundation.
The multi-talented Gordy Euler will leave his musical instruments behind tonight, and provide a selection of tasty contras for your dancing pleasure.

2010 dance dates:

Saturday, January 9th: The Eugene Barnstormers with Woody Lane
Saturday, January 23rd: The Nettles with Marlin Prowell
Saturday, February 13: NO DANCE: (Dance in Corvallis instead)
Saturday, February 27th: Hands4 with Sue Baker
FRIDAY, March 12th: Zollo (Seattle) with Adina Gordon (NC): Special FRIDAY dance. Dance Saturday in Portland to the music of the Portland Megaband.
Saturday, March 27th: Unleashed! with Eric Curl
Thursday, April 8th: The Great Bear Trio with Lynn Ackerson: Special mid-week dance
Saturday, April 10th: — NO DANCE
Saturday, April 24th: Night Owl with Mary Devlin
Saturday, May 8th: Cascade Crossing with Erik Weberg
Saturday, May 22nd: Red Crow with William Watson
Saturday, June 12th: Full Moon with Susan Petrick

Contradance/Potluck e-mail list: For notification of Eugene and Corvallis mostly contra dance events and potluck dinners - anyone may subscribe to this list. To subscribe, send an e-mail from the account where you want to receive the newsletter to: majordomo@peak.org
In the BODY (not the subject line) put this single line: subscribe efs-contradance. Instructions for unsubscribing will be included at the end of each email that we send you. (Or visit this web page to subscribe to the EFS contra dance mailing list.)

Corvallis car pool: Leaves at 7:00 from the parking lot accross from New Morning Bakery in downtown Corvallis.

Directions to EFS Contra dances

Ceasar Chavez Middle School:

From the North:: Go south on HWY 99 to Chambers St, and turn right (south).; After the light at 13th, turn left (east) onto 14th Ave.; Cesar Chavez School and gym are on the right: Follow the driveway to the 40 parking spaces. You may also park in the “pause parking” and “bus stop” zones.
From the south:: Get on Chambers via 18th or any other street, and head north.; Turn right at 14th, and turn left into the driveway at the school sign.
Via bicycle:: The school is right on the bike path that follows Amazon Creek. There is a paved pathway at the east side of the school between the bike path and the school grounds.
There is limited automobile parking: Please carpool or ride your bike!

Teddy Roosevelt Middle School:

From the North:: Go south on HWY 99 to Chambers St, and turn right (south).; Continue through the lights at 11th and 13th, and turn left (east) at the light at 18th Ave.; Take 18th east for just over one and 1/4 mile, passing the busy lights at Willamette and Oak, and turn right (south) at the next light at Pearl.; Pass 19th, and continue 1/2 mile south to the next light, at 24th, and turn left.; In less than 1/4 mile, you’ll see the school on the right.; Turn IMMEDIATELY into the first driveway, and park on one fo the several small lots behind the school.
From the south:: If you head north on Willamette or Amazon parkway, turn right onto 24th.; If you head north on Hilyard, you will find the school on your left, at the corner of 24th.; You may have to turn left onto 24th and drive around the school to get into its parking lots.
Via bicycle:: Take the Amazon Creek bike path to 24th street. Head east along 24th to the school.
There is limited automobile parking: Please carpool or ride your bike!

Regional Dance Internet Resources

Do you have something to say to Willamette Valley dancers? Want to share a ride? find a ride? You can connect here at Oregon Contra Connection

There are two email lists with local dance information, one for Eugene and one or Corvallis. These are cheap, easy, and environmentally friendly.

To subscribe by email:
Send an email to either: efs-contradance-request@peak.org
or: cfs-contradance-request@peak.org

In the message body, say "subscribe". Wait for an email reply and follow instructions. Unsubcribing is the same, but say "unsubscribe". Change your email by unsubscribing from the old account and also subscribing from the new.

To subscribe via the web:
Visit either: http://maillist.peak.org/mailman/listinfo/efs-contradance
or: http://maillist.peak.org/mailman/listinfo/cfs-contradance

Spencer Creek Grange Barn Dances: 3rd Saturdays

Spencer Creek Grange Barn Dances (Traditional square dancing, waltzes, and line dancing.)

Live music by the Old Time Fiddlers
Caller is Alan Ede of Corvallis
3rd Saturdays, 7-10 p.m.
Nov. 21
Dec. 19
Jan. 16
Feb. 20

Donations accepted at the door. The Spencer Creek Grange is located on the southwest side of Eugene, at the corner of Lorane Hwy. and McBeth Rd. (Google map to the location)

Corvallis Contra Dances: 1st and 3rd Saturdays

Corvallis Folklore Society:Dances are held at First Congregational Church, 4515 SW West Hills Rd, Corvallis (Map). From 99W, go west on Western, stay right as it veers left after the stop on 35th St. Church is on right, Go to second driveway, east end of parking lot. Please bring clean soled shoes to dance in, to keep street grit off the dance floor!! Cost: $6 CFS/EFS members; $7 general admission. There are sometimes potluck dinners held before the dance at 6PM. Info: call 541-745-1002 (Karen and Frank Griswold) or 541-501-6184 (Dan McKenzie) or email: contramaniac@gmail.com. See Corvallis Dance Schedule.

Out of Town Contra Dances

Bend Community Contra Dance: Second Saturdays (and some 4th Saturdays!), October through April on the west side of the river in Bend at Kenwood School Gym on Newport at 8th (map). Dance workshop at 7, music begins at 7:30, admission $7. For more information contact Kate Beardsley at (541)330-8943 or email katebeardsley@hotmail.com.

PORTLAND DANCE SCHEDULE : Dances continue almost every Saturday through the year. Fulton Park Comunity Center, 68 SW Miles St (map). Instruction at 7:30, dance at 8:00. Dances continue almost every Saturday through the year. Check Portland Contra & English Dances for their schedule, or call their dance hotline: 503-972-0619.

Regional Contra Dances

Ashland: 3rd Sat contra dances
Bend: 2nd Sat & occasional 4th Sat contra dances intro session 7:00, dance 7:30-10:00
Coos Bay: 3rd Sat contra dances, start time 7:30PM
Corvallis: 1st and 3rd Saturdays, CFS Contra Dances
La Grande: 2nd Saturdays, NE Oregon Folklore Society
Hood River: 2nd Sat contra dances
Portland: every Saturday
Seattle, WA: Matt Fisher’s Guide to dances in Seattle

For links to contra dances in other areas, check: Contra Dance Links on the Web