We had a good crowd for our 5th annual Playford Ball, ending our season in June. There were some very imaginative costumes, which I hope will inspire others in the future. Thanks to everyone who helped to make the evening a success, in particular Sherry Dewan who provided a large number of flowers, which were a simple, but very elegant decoration for the hall.
In addition to our regular monthly dances and our Ball there were some special events this past spring. On the sixth of May we once again took part in the May Day celebration at the Botanical Gardens in Lake of the Woods Park near Mahomet. We were able to get quite a few kids and adults to join us in a Maypole dance as well as some other English dances. It's always hard to know what sort of effect this type of event has, but I think it's the sort of thing we need to continue to do. It makes people aware of our group and helps us continue to recruit new dancers.
The other extra event we had this spring was to hold a dance at Crystal Lake Park. We had hoped to have a spring dance at Allerton Park, in addition to our dance there in the fall, but apparently the springtime is a popular time for people to have weddings and there were no Sunday afternoons available at Allerton. So we switched the event to Crystal Lake and had a nice afternoon of dancing near the Anita Purvis Nature Center in Urbana.
The Hallowe'en Masquerade dance was so successful last year that we will be doing it again on Friday, October 27. We will be starting the dance at 8:00 p.m. this year and I hope everyone will be able to attend. Once again everyone is encouraged to come in costume and wear a mask.
I hope everyone has a good summer and remembers the pool party on July 15 and the dance in the Sunken Gardens at Allerton Park on September 24.
Saturday, July 15: Pool party at Jane Hobgood's, 3 Illini Circle, Urbana. Swimming starts at 3:00, dancing in the pool at 4:00, potluck dinner at 5:30. Call 328-1708 for directions. Rain date: Sunday, July 16.
Saturday, September 9: dance 7-9 p.m. at the Springer Center.
Sunday, September 24: Dance at Allerton Park. Picnic 1-3, dance 3-6. Admission free.
Friday, October 27: Halloween dance 8-10 p.m. at the Springer Center.
Saturday, November 18: dance 7-9 p.m. at the Springer Center.
Sunday, December 3: dance 3-5 p.m. at the Springer Center.
Saturday, December 16: 6th Annual Christmas Ball. Channing-Murray Foundation. Dance warm-up 7-8 p.m. Dance 8-11 p.m. Admission $5.00.