The Holiday Season brought many fun and festive dancing opportunities across our region; holiday dances, proms, sports theme dances, valentine’s dances, etc. Despite all the snow and cold weather, we are happy to say, our clubs are doing very well with attendance at their dances and classes.

We always want our dancers safe so please make sure your dancers are aware of your cancellation protocols. For the cancellation of any Federation (WNYF) sponsored event we follow the following protocols: cancellation emails to our club presidents, cancellation post on our WNYF website- Breaking News along with posting a cancellation on our Square Dancing Rochester Facebook page.

Save the dates for some special events:

WNYF Annual Dance Festival Dance-O-Rama (DOR) 2026 On Saturday, May 2, 2026, from 1-5pm WNYF will hold our annual Dance-O-Rama (DOR) at the Perinton Recreation Center. It is the 66th Annual DOR. Jack Pladdys, National Caller from Ohio and our own Gary and Alice Bubel with be calling and cueing. We will have a Graduate Parade for all new graduates since DOR 2025. The 2026 Daphne -Norma Leadership Award will be presented, the highest honor given in our square and round dance community. Our Clubs received their DOR 2026 information and ribbons in February. We are hoping for a record turn out this year. Ribbons are $10 until April 18th and $12 after April 18th

Sat. April 11, 2026 Community Arts Day (CAD) at Schroeder High School in Webster. CAD is a PTSA-sponsored event, a joint venture with each of Webster’s 11 schools that raises money to support cultural arts activities in the buildings. CAD showcases our children’s creative talent and artwork, and involves the whole community in a day to celebrate cultural arts. Activities include art displays, musical entertainment, demonstrations (karate, gymnastics, dance, etc.), carnival games, sweet treats sale, plant sale, vendor booths, crafts galore, lunch and so much more! Over 2000 people attend CAD each year. We have rented the gym for a square dance demo and will be having an exhibitor’s booth to distribute info about our clubs, open houses, etc. Jim Gotta will be calling. Demo time TBD

Mon. June 22, 2026 Strawberry Festival at Greece Town Hall. More details to follow.

We are also currently in discussions for summer square dance demos with Genesee Country Village and South Wedge Festival.

June 2026- Amateur Caller/Cuer Dance. The WNYF will be sponsoring another Amateur Calling Night Dance to provide Amateur Calling and Cuer Opportunities. Last year’s amateur calling dance was very successful. We are asking our dancers who want try their skill as callers or cuers to join in the amateur calling and cueing fun and maybe they will win the roaring tiger award. Several of our callers: Mike Callahan, Ron Brown, Jim Gotta, etc. will assist and guide our amateurs in preparing, just tell them now that you want to try calling or cueing at this June dance. We should know the date of this dance in a few weeks. For those interested in attending caller school, check out the WNYF caller grants on the Federation forms and documents page. The Mike Callahan Caller Grant will fund the accredited 30+ hour calling school grants.

Elections for the 2026-2027 WNYF Board will be at the April Meeting on April 16, 2026 starting at 7:30pm.

Most of the WNYF Board members and DOR Committee members have served several terms in their positions. We appreciate all their dedication, support and time serving the Federation. Due to their dedication to keeping square dancing alive in western NY, many officers and committee members have indicated they will continue in another term unless we have volunteers to take their positions.

As with any organization or business we need to have succession planning in place. At this time the Federation doesn’t have this but really needs it.

The Federation is a volunteer organization and we need volunteers to help with our activities and the promotion of square and round dancing. The Federation sponsors many dances and community demos throughout the year. We are a resource to our 15 Clubs. We only hold about 6 -7 virtual WNYF meetings and DOR meetings each year that usually average 1 hour long. Everyone can participate virtually from the comfort of their home. We have many opportunities for volunteers to become involved as part of the DOR Committee, or as a volunteer the day of DOR at one of our many sponsored events. Feel free to attend any of our Federation virtual meetings as a guest.

Please consider how you can help.

We hope to see you on the dance floor!

Debbie and Jeff Blood