The LBDA 20th Anniversary Memories Page

Help celebrate 20+ years of Lawrence Barn Dances: If you have a fond recollection or favorite moment from a past LBDA dance, jot it down and email it to . We displayed some of the comments received at our 20th Anniversary dance in October, 2003, and will continue to add some of the best on this web site. Click here to go to our current dance calendar Last Update: October 15, 2002

Laurie Ward remembers:

When I met Bill Ward, he had never been to a barn dance.  During our
13 years together, he attended perhaps half the dances I did.  He
somewhat liked them.  In the middle of LBDA's first Pilgrim's
Progression dance weekend (with Tony Parkes and Nightingale) in
November, 1995, one month before he died, Bill ran up to me and
hugged me and declared excitedly, "I get it!"  This is one of my
zillions of sweet memories of Bill and a source of great
satisfaction--that he grokked barn dancing before leaving this
earthly life.

I started coming to the dances in 1990 or 1991.   I remember friends at the music jams mentioning to me how much fun the dances were.   Steve Mason, if I remember correctly, commented to me that it was the "social event of the month."   Other friends also applied gentle pressure for me to come. Being a bit shy about things of this nature, I was apprehensive.   The first dance was awesome.   The live music was refreshing.   Many of the people there were ones that I was already getting to know and were very helpful, showing me what to do, etc.   I remember Lisa Harris, Jerry Jost, and Sharon & Keith Freisen-Penner from that first dance.

The Euphoria String Band seems to stand out in my mind in those earlier years.   Once the contradance moves became more or less automatic, the great music from the various bands made the dancing become the fabulous experience that I remember.   The 'Euphorgasms' that the Euphoria String Band put into their music was quite a rush.  I remember hearing screams and yells from folks when they would work in the crescendo and other mystical rhythmic aspects of their presentation.

There have been some fabulous after dance parties over the years.   The parties at Dan Pennington's house on New Hampshire were very good. However, the all time great 'after dance party' happened at Linda Evans house on Rhode Island (2000?).   It was crammed with people and the music was on fire that night.   Folks were dancing, clogging, etc.   The energy flow was phenomenal.  I think that Volker Wittig was responsible for drumming up some of the energy in addition to Linda's unending enthusiasm.

Stony Point dances were quite magical.  The music as I remember it was alway quite good.   The ambience of the old barn lit by lanterns and small light bulbs was top notch.   The potluck dinners were incredibly good. There was always plenty of good stuff to eat. I even remember twice preparing lotus root that I had grown for these fall events.   I think that I danced till I couldn't stand up any more.   Some of those dances went till the wee hours of the morning as long as the band and caller remained operational.   I just loved the quite country setting away from the lights of the city.   I remember Pat Okolski's fiddle playing and the clouds of rosin that caked up on top of his fiddle.

After the Pilgrim's Progression dance weekend in 2001, I remember that the after dance party was extraordinary.  We met in a house on Ohio (not sure of owner or exact location).  A large pile of people came over for the event.  The big house gave us room to spread out and visit, play music, tell stories, and dance.  My favorite part of that party occurred late at night when Mike Rundle started telling stories.  I had not laughed as much as I did that evening for a long time.  It was a memorable moment.  I remember that the band was there listening to these stories and telling stories themselves.  Whem Mike revealed that he was Mayor of Lawrence, the band members could not believe it.  Mike whipped out a business card to prove it.   They said something to the effect that this was indeed a great town to live in!
 

The New Year's Eve dance welcoming in the year 2000 stands out the most.  It was a
party where everyone came ready to enjoy a wonderful time.  Many people wore their
most feative outfits, I remember a gentleman decked out in top hat and tails, (he
looked quite dashing), as well as many ladies in lovely dresses.  Thanks to Pam and
her crew of helpers there was a starry sky indoors and subdued lighting to make
everything that much more special.

The dances that were held at Stony Point barn had their own special ambiance.  There
is nothing quite like a barn dance in an actual barn with a good floor and wonderful
scenery.

Thank you to everyone who makes the Lawrence dance happen!  God Bless you all.