What a great way to start the New Year with our Hawaiian Dance!! We just danced, relaxed and had fun.

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Hi all! The Cayuga Cut-Ups are on a Banner Stealing Mission, and your club could be next!

We have the Copy Cats’ and the Shirts n Skirts’ banners! We’re looking for more, with the hope that clubs could retrieve their banners at our 62nd Anniversary Dance and Steak Roast. Save the Date August 12th, Vince’s Park, Seneca Falls.

Keep dancing!

Submitted by Linda English

The Western New York Federation of Square and Round Dancers (WNYF) is a regional organization of dance clubs in the Rochester area, as well as parts of the Buffalo and Finger Lakes regions. The Federation’s purpose is to promote interest in round dancing and square dancing through a variety of activities, and to provide a forum for coordination among its affiliated clubs as well as the Callers Co-op of Rochester. The Federation’s executive Board meets with club representatives most months to keep clubs up-to-date and help coordinate inter-club activities.

The Federation annually contracts with the United Square Dancers of America for insurance coverage for our dancers in our 16 member clubs.

The premier Federation-organized event is the annual Dance-O-Rama festival, generally held on the first weekend in May. Currently it is the largest square dance event held in Western New York.

The Federation began co-sponsoring an annual Afternoon New Year’s Eve Dance with the Copy Cats Square Dance Club in 2021. The dance is held on 12/31 in the afternoon. What a wonderful event to welcome the New Year with our square dance friends and family.

Our Website: squaredancingrochester.org

The “Federation” page will take you to details about our organization and its activities, including meeting dates, meeting minutes and other items of interest. Scroll this page to find seasonal articles. Navigate through the site using labeled “buttons” at the top of every page and on the home page and Promenader page.

Our Facebook Page: Square Dancing Rochester includes posts and pictures from our member club dances and events.

Online Quarterly News: The Promenader

This web site is also home to our quarterly online news publication, the Promenader. There you will find schedule information, articles, and flyers covering the activities of our many round and square dance clubs. A new issue is posted every three months: on the first day of March, June, September, and December. Each new issue contains fresh news and updated schedule information, open house and class listings.

HELP WANTED:

We are always looking for volunteers to help behind the scenes with our Annual Dance-O-Rama, the Quarterly issues of our Promenader and our Facebook page postings, etc.

Currently we also have leadership openings on our Executive Board.

1. Vice President or Co-Vice Presidents

2. Promotions Coordinator or Co-Promotions Coordinators

If you are interested in becoming more involved with our square dance and round dance community, please consider volunteering to help on the Board or a committee.

It is a fun and wonderful way to get to know members of our dance community.

If you are interested, please contact us:

Debbie & Jeff Blood, Co-Presidents

Western NY Federation of Square and Round Dancers Inc

Email: dfbjvbhome@aol.com

Joann Baxter, member of Silver Squares & Batavia Silver Stars became involved in the Troopons program over 10 years ago through a friend. In this program, you donate your unused manufacturers coupons to our military through the Support our Troops Troopons Program (SUPPORTOURTROOPS.ORG). Joann indicated that over the years several churches, senior groups, college kids and groups, hospital staff, and at least three local square dance clubs have donated their coupons.

The value of the coupons is estimated based on the weight of coupons collected, using a formula provided by a group at Rochester Institute of Technology. The accompanying table shows the estimated annual donated coupon value donated from our area over the years. As expected, the volume of coupons we sent took a major dip during the COVID pandemic.

The total from 2010 through 2022 are:

Pounds of coupons 2,287

Coupon $ Value $7,226,628

If you are interested in participating in this program, manufacturers coupons are collected at the Silver Squares Dances held on Monday afternoons. Or you can mail them in directly yourself.

Here are the guidelines:

Coupons are valid in this program up to two months after their expiration.

It is recommended coupons be separated into baggies marked the following five categories:

Food, Pets, Household, Baby, Personal items

Sorting by category makes it easier for volunteers to get the coupons where they need to go in the PX’s on the various bases.

The coupons can be mailed the cheapest way to the following address:

Support Our Troops, PO Box 70, Daytona Beach, FL 32115-0070.

There is also is a website you can check for additional information:

https://supportourtroops.org/troopons

Joann indicated “Our military families thank you for getting the word out about this program. Our support is making a difference.”

Manufacturers Coupons Sent to the Troops 2010 to Present

On the afternoon of December 31, The WNYF teamed up with the Copy Cats for their second annual New Years Eve dance at the Copy Cats venue in Penfield. Five squares of dancers enjoyed Jim Gotta’s calling and cueing.

Submitted by Jeff & Debbie Blood

The Copy Cats’ catered Christmas Holiday Dance, December 17, 2022, was a class/club dance. It was well attended with six squares on the dance floor. Their 2022–23 class of Kittens received a warm welcome!

Photos courtesy of Jeff & Debbie Blood

Gary and Alice Bubel held the Christmas dance for their clubs on December 2, 2022. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Photos courtesy of Jeff & Debbie Blood

The Copy Cats Winter Wonderland Dance, January 21, 2023, was organized and decorated by the Copy Kittens. Our dance was held from 2–4 pm. The Kittens arrived at 1:00 pm and did a beautiful job of decorating, setting up chairs, caller/cuer tables and sign-in tables. There were pastel snowflakes and icicle lights hanging from the ceiling, white snowflakes on the walls, and even a snowman standing beside the snack table. The Kittens brought snacks, which were thoroughly enjoyed! We had eight squares on the dance floor keeping tempo to Ron Brown’s proficient calling. Eight couples round danced to Lisa Treichler’s excellent cueing. Our banner was stolen by the Cayuga Cut-Ups after Ron Brown put them through their paces on the dance floor! We already have plans to retrieve it! Many clubs participated in this fantastic event.

Submitted by Donna & Rick LaDonna

Photos courtesy of Jeff & Debbie Blood

Valentine’s Day at Silver Squares, with Jim Gotta calling for five squares. Such fun!

Submitted by Anne Granger

At a recent Silver Squares dance, Jim Lee celebrated his birthday with a special cake made by Rosie Holley!

We did not have enough girls to dance so Don Naulin and Jim Lee donned skirts and danced the girls part for the afternoon!!! They did a great job.

Our own Jane Jones from Silver Squares celebrated a very special birthday with her husband, Stu, and her daughter, Susan.

Happy Birthday, Jane!

Submitted by Anne Granger

The DOR 2023 Committee is planning to create a “Western NY Federation Wall of Caller and Cuer Recognition.” The wall will honor our current active callers and cuers for the 16 WNYF Clubs.

We plan to include a photo and brief biography for our callers and cuers. We hope all clubs will participate in this project and assist us in creating this wall of recognition for DOR 2023.

Please encourage you club’s leadership and your caller and/or cuer to participate in this.

Submitted by Jeff & Debbie Blood

George Washington (aka George Stahl) came to dance at Silver Squares on President's Day. Five squares of dancers gathered to celebrate the day!