4 years ago I changed jobs and had limited vacation time so I’ve not been able to travel overseas to call square dances. I just came back from a wonderful trip to Karlstad, Sweden that I wanted to share.

The weekend started in quite a frightening way. I was to travel from Knoxville to Chicago, change plans and fly to Frankfurt. Change plans again and fly to Oslo, Norway. I would be picked up by Jacob & Liv and driven 3 hours to Karlstad, Sweden. On the way to Frankfurt, we had to make an emergency landing in Boston because a cargo door that had opened. I imagined my luggage was somewhere on the roof of someone’s house in PA…… After 3 hours the problem was fixed and I was headed to Frankfurt. Only problem was the delay in Boston caused me to miss my flight to Oslo. There was another plane leaving a few hours later that I was able to take. So I landed in Norway and awaited my bags… Of course it was the last to come down the conveyer belt. I picked it up and met Jacob and Liv outside of customs.. They drove me the 3 hrs to Sweden…. I had not slept on the plane because of the emergency landing so my best sleep in almost 24 hours came in their car on the way to the dance…. I did stay awake long enough to get a wonderful history lesson from Jacob who spoke perfect English. He pointed out the “moose crossing signs” similar to the deer crossing signs we have in the U.S. We stopped at the home I would stay in for the w/e…. Heidi & Nilsowe were not there when we arrived. They were at the square dance decorating the school for the festival. I shaved, showered, and got dressed for the dance…. Not having much sleep was a bit of a challenge but when I arrived at the school to call, I got into the “groove”…. I was so pumped by square dance friends I had met in Oslo in 2005 that came to hear me call. It was an incredible experience calling Friday night…. I forgot how Europeans don’t really take breaks between the tips…. At the end of the tip they clap for the caller, thank each other and “run” to another square and wait patiently to start a new tip…. My first session was basic level which, in the U.S, is non-existent… I called EVERYTHING I knew in the first tip and was in a panic… partly because I was exhausted and partly because these dancers were superb…. Well I managed to dig deep into my subconscious and found some more creative things to try w/them. It’s nothing for these dancers to do a left square thru 2 ½ at this level which is something you’d never think to call back home. The dance flew by and I couldn’t wait to get some sleep… It was probably the best sleep I’d had in YEARS…. I had 48 hrs to make up for and used every minute to try to catch up.
The next day I was scheduled to call Mainstream, Plus, A1, A2 and C1. There were 4 other callers from Sweden on staff…. Christer, Jon, Margarita, & Hans. There were all extremely talented and it only added to the pressure to be “the American caller”. But, the dancers put me at ease… Maybe it was the abundant smiles, or the way they properly do- ci-do ed , or the way they moved their hands to the beat while circling left…. Or all of the above.. I was in square dance heaven. I started calling at 1p and ended around 8 w/only a ½ hour break for dinner…. It didn’t matter because the dancers kept me at a high….
After the dance Saturday night we went to one of the square dance homes for an after party. It was fun to explain the differences calling in the U.S. and Europe.
The next morning I awoke to a unique breakfast. Heide said this was a typical Swedish breakfast. It was cereal and “sour” milk…. Of course I was frightened because “sour” milk in the U.S. gets thrown out. But there were hard rolls on the table & special cheese so I knew I wouldn’t go hungry.. Of course, I had to try the milk…. I was similar to yogurt in taste w/the consistency of milk so it was easy on the taste buds.
The dance on Sunday was A1, A2 & C1. It was amazing…. There were 4 squares in the C1 hall. I asked how many of the people on the floor were callers. Almost ½ raised their hands… What an honor to have that many callers in attendance supporting the dance. On the looooooong plane ride over I had prepared some “special” tips for the festival. The kind where you trade w/your original partner at the end of a call. It went over great and they were so appreciative of the preparation I did for them.
After the dance we went back to Heidi & Nilsowe’s house for my last dinner in Sweden. It consisted of a roasted Elk and potatoes….It was a fabulous meal.
I have wonderful memories of this experience…. The hardest I have to work calling square dances is always in Europe & Asia but I’m already looking forward to the next time…..
There’s nothing quite like this kinda experience

Because of vacation days, scheduling conflicts and logistics I've not been able to attend many TN state conventions until recently. I'm so glad, the past cpl years, to have the opportunity to be a part of this exciting event. Its a great chance for me to socialize w/many fellow callers I only see once a year at the state. I'm blown away by the talent of the TN callers. Whether it’s mainstream, plus, or advance TN has fabulous entertainers.
There were over 500 square dancers in attendance at the convention which easily filled the halls. Wall to wall people was the theme of the festival. My 1st calling spot was Friday nite in the advanced hall. There was only room for 3 squares comfortably but by moving chairs and checker boarding squares we snuck in 4. My next assignment was in the plus hall. It is a calling spot I will never forget. The hall was packed w/ hundreds of enthusiastic dancers who roared after each sequence. The requested singing call was Volcano (thanks Bill Fox) that ended w/the whole floor in a conga line. What a thrill!!!
Saturday night the energy continued w/a 10 minute spot n the hot hash hall. Here we were at the end of the festival and the room had screaming dancers after each fast paced figure. I didn't want it to end. Next year the venue moves to back to gatlinburg.
I'm already looking fwd to it

2 Festivals Back to Back

Lets start w/last weekend. I called at the Baltimore Festival with a fabulous staff of callers. Tom Miller, Ron Libby, Billy Harrison, Tony Oxendine and me. I was anxiously waiting for this one because it’s always a highlight of the year and this one didn’t disappoint. This is a regular festival for me to be on and there always lots of smiling familiar faces that makes it easier to be away from home. This staff was somewhat unusual because Tony had never been on this festival. I’m one of his biggest fans so it’s thrill just to be on staff w/him. (not to mention the other fantastic callers).
In addition to the staff I was flabbergasted to see so many young square dancers w/babies. It’s hard to get used to because I’ve seen these kids for years and years. None of them look any older only now they are pushing baby carriages. In fact I watched a tip that Tony was calling for them in the “young at heart” room. He had a square in front that actually danced while pushing their babies in their carriages. It was a hoot to watch. I’m sure someone has that on u tube. :>)
One of my favorite parts of the festival was a “hot hash” hour I called in the Plus hall. The room was packed w/ dancers and it was incredible. I fired one call after another at the group and they responded w/great results. I was exhausted just watching them try and keep up w/the calls at the speed I was working…. Somehow they managed to smile thru the whole hour……. I’ve had an opportunity to do this in the past but this one stood out! I think only the best of best dancers tried this one…..
The die-hard w/the whole staff was spectacular. None of the callers wanted to relinquish the mike. We enjoyed so much the camaraderie that we wanted to keep calling and harmonizing even after two 9 hours days of calling. It’s a testimonial of how much we all enjoy each other, the activity and the dancers. I hope to be back in 2011 for another exciting festival.


Now onto this years Peachtree Promenade in Commerce, Ga. It’s the 5th year we done this festival and this one was the BEST YET!..... We were up 25% in attendance from last year and had over 45 squares dancing in the 2 halls. The staff has remained the same from the beginning. Gary Shoemake (TN), Ken Bower (CA), Darryl McMillan (AL), Jerry Biggerstaff (NC) & me. It’s non-stop excitement w/5 callers and 2 halls. The highlite each year is the Sunday morning session. We have one hall only w/all 5 callers doing gospel singing calls for 1 straight hour. One dancer even came up during the session and asked if we had CD’s of the singing calls… (I wish we did so I could enjoy the harmony for the next 51 weeks). Ironically we didn’t all know a few of the tunes but what makes gospel great is the similarity of the songs. Gary & I got laughing as I changed some of the words to a tune we had just done previously. Singing w/this group has become the thrill of a lifetime as a caller. I keep pinching myself to see if I’m having a dream. Callers will often say more then 3 guys on a stage at a time is overpowering to the music. Not this group ! We called singer after singer and had the most beautiful harmonies going….. The weekend is always the 4th w/e in July. Mark your calendars! If you only dance 1 w/e a year, this is the one it should be !

It is w/much sadness I close this chapter of Mandy performing in college. Her final musical was stop the world I want to get off. It was a bdwy show from the 60's made famous by anthony newley. A cpl of famous songs came from this show. Gonna build a mountain & what kind of fool am I. I was really looking fwd to this because it was to be mandy's last production number at trinity. I was not disappointed. Mandy played the part of a russian worker. She performed the part with an incredible accent and perfect timing. She's really grown as an actress and it’s been a thrill to watch her on stage these past 4 years.
In just 4 weeks it’s hard to imagine she'll graduate from college ready to start the next exciting chapter of her life.

I'm driving back from another sold out pipestem WV square dance w/e. This year the 3rd annual event was everything I dreamd it would be. Let's start w/the reasons my expectations were so high. First. DSL ran it. They put on a w/e like no other. Dave Knapp handles the callers which is the worst job 2 have. He also handles mktng and is brilliant. His wife, Becky, designs the beautiful fliers and promo shirts. Rick Sylvester is in charge of the acommodations and accounting. His wife, Sue, makes the dancing schedule and takes the registrations. They compliment each other magnificently. They are so successful the festival has sold out all 3 years they've run it. Yes you heard me right. Their sd w/ends are sold out. In fact next year will be sold out too. How do I know this? Sat am it was already full for next year. How's that for success. Now you add a cpl of my favorite callers to work with. Tom Miller and Tim Marriner and you have a magical w/e. We 3 don't work together on many w/ends so the harmony and laughter is spontaneous. And , believe me, there's lots of laughing. I think, 1/2 the time the dancers are watching us to see what's making us laugh to the point we can't even get the calls out.
I keep pinching myself because I feel like I'm in a dream. How fun is it to know next year is another sellout w/ the 1st yrs callers, Jerry Story & Tim Marriner and me, reuniting again.... I can't believe I have to wait 52 weeks for this..... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH