Before the year was over, we attended the Western Star Dancers Mainstream/Plus Class! What a fun group! They really know that square dancing is “Friendship Set to Music.”
After our California debut at Relay the Reindeer, I and my chick attended Rich Reel’s Birthday Bash on December 12, 2012! A great time was had by all! Darren Gallina called with his band, Crossfire! Here’s a pic of the event with us (and Snack) right in front of all the action!
I, Lottie, have been taking it easy since I arrived in California because it’s hot here compared to Minnesota! When the air turned cooler, I and my chick started itching to get out and dance! In the attached pictures, you’ll see that we attended the Relay The Reindeer Dance held by Diablo Dancers, where we posed for pictures with Steve, Aline, Brad and Lorenzo (his pic is coming) and had a great time sharing the message of square dancing: it’s all “Friendship Set to Music.”
After spending a few weeks in the company of Triangle Squares dancers in Toronto, I and my chick Loki (aka Snack) flew with club president Susan C to Vancouver on June 24 for the 29th annual IAGSDC convention, “Dance Up a Storm,” hosted by Squares Across the Border.
We got there a few days early because Susan was attending caller school. We dropped in on the school a few times ourselves, to help the new callers practise their routines.
It was thrilling to see all the new talent in the room. There were students from all across Canada and the US. Hats off to the organizers, and the fabulous coaches: Saundra Bryant (Chicago), Vic Ceder (Los Olivos, CA) and Anne Uebelacker (Vancouver)!
On Friday, June 29, things really got going with a bang. More than 800 dancers from around the world, including 40 from Triangle Squares, descended on the hotel. Some came from as far away as Japan and Germany.
The dancing was fast and furious, with rooms for Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, and Challenge up to C4. Wow! There were a few Hot Hash tips that had to be seen to be believed. I think it was more like square running than dancing! And everyone had a fabulous time.
At the end of it all, I asked Steve Huggins, president of San Francisco’s Foggy City Dancers, if he’d escort me and Loki (aka Snack) to his home club, and he graciously agreed. Yay!
Steve’s club and eight others on the West Coast are busy preparing to host the 30th convention, Weave Your Heart in San Francisco, in 2013, and they’re all working very hard to make it one heck of a party. So he’s given us tourist maps and a key to our new home, and we’re out and about, meeting and greeting.
We don’t know where we’ll end up next, but in the meantime, we’re certainly keeping ourselves busy, enjoying beautiful San Francisco as we prepare for our next adventure!
Oh dear, it may appear as if Lottie is lost! No, Lottie is in good hands and may be on the move (or will be shortly). Unfortunately, the only thing lost was my e-mail.
When Paul and Gloria Lavigne asked Lorraine and I to host Lottie we were at the end of our clubs – Capital Steppers and Trackers, both Plus clubs – dance season. We were, however, heading to Guelph, Ontario to attend the Toronto and District Annual Convention with a stopover in Toronto to join the Triangle Squares for special dance.
We took the opportunity to ask Susan Cox to host Lottie and where delighted to discover that Lottie’s reputation had preceded her so Susan accepted and presented Lottie to the club and guests. Now we had some technical difficulties with pictures and since many of us where on our way to Guelph the next day, we took advantage and did a ‘re-do’ which Susan has presented below. As you will note in Susan’s correspondence, Lottie is in good hands and will enjoy more distant and perhaps exotic travels in the coming months.
Best regards,
Ken Phillips
Passports firmly clutched in our wings, I, Lottie, and my beautiful little chick flew into Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on May 3, 2012, escorted by Ken Phillips from the Capital Steppers.
To great applause, we landed in the middle of a special dance, called by Montreal caller Don Moger, and supervised the rest of the evening from the caller’s table.
We were beside ourselves when we found out that Canada’s $1 coin is commonly referred to as a Loon, because it features a beautiful engraving of… yes, a loon!
We’ve been told that a $1 Loon will be going with us, as a memento of our time in Canada.
We are now nesting comfortably with Toronto Triangle Squares club president Susan, well beyond the reach of three very interested cats.
The cats decided to name my chick. By a vote of 2-1, she’s now called Loki.
The losing name was Snack. Bad cat!
We will be flying west with Susan and many other members of Triangle Squares at the end of June. We will be meeting up with hundreds of dancers from around the world to “Dance Up a Storm” in Vancouver.
I’m resting up, because after that continent-spanning trip, we’ll be off to Germany… or maybe Japan. 
I haven’t made up my mind on which sounds more appealing.
More later…
Cheers from Canada!
Triangle Squares members Chris, Susan and Niall (L-R) are honoured to
receive Lottie from Ken Phillips of the Capital Steppers.
Triangle Squares member Chris introduces Lottie and chick to baby Beatrix.
More later…
Cheers from Canada!
Lottie and Loki
Susan, Nicky, Norah, and Doodle
I, Lottie, enjoyed my stay here in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. While here, I was made a member of Club 2014. This is the organizing group for the Canadian National Square and Round Dance Convention to take place here in Ottawa in July, 2014. They hope to see me and all my dancing friends from the U.S.A. for some great dancing and to renew old and make new friendships. Now I’m continuing my journey in the care of Lorraine Cole and Ken Phillips. They are off to 3/4 day of dancing at the Toronto and district convention. Sorry, but no one took pictures of me and all the fun we had.
I have had an exciting time in Myrtle Beach. Jim and June belong to both MPR square dance clubs and also to the A club: the Dixie Diamonds, which meets Wednesdays in Surfside Beach at the Senior Center. The Monday and Thursday clubs meet at the Senior Center on 21st Ave North…not far down from the Convention Center in Myrtle Beach. All dances start at seven. Don’t miss a dance with them–they’re a fun bunch!
Yesterday evening, at dinner, Erich and Rosalie Klippel called Dick & Irma Halstead to verify that it would be okay to bring me (Lottie) to their home in Palmyra, NY. They were inviting me and my chick to travel with them!! They were leaving bright and early the next day for their winter quarters in Myrtle Beach, SC., where they rent what is advertised as a “Lakeside Villa”; however, it is actually a nicely furnished 2BR, bath and 1/2, kitchen/living rm combo Park Model at the Lakewood Camping Resort–a very fun Ocean Front facility with lots to do and many friends to do it with…most notably their joined-at-the-hip square dance friends, Andy & Kay Anderson, of the Cayuga Cut Ups, and Union Springs, NY.
