Wasn’t that a party!  On January 12, 2008 the folks of the Mississippi Squares and their guests turned the town of Carleton Place into “Square Dance Central”, as 420 dancers from 32 clubs arrived for the 19^th Annual Halfway Dance.  Notre Dame High School parking lot could hardly contain all the cars (and even a couple of buses!) that arrived filled with dancers just rarin’ to put on their party shoes!  

Even the weatherman cooperated, and skies were fair and snowless (for a change!), so dancers from as far away as Belleville and Montreal were able to attend this eagerly-anticipated dance.  A small army of volunteers began decorating at 1 o’clock, and two hours later, the school gymnasium and cafetorium had been magically transformed.   

Dancers began arriving at 6 o’clock for some pre-dance browsing at the three boutiques, (Allemande Accessories, Canning’s Creations, and Ruffles), and to wonder over the prize table with its more than 70 beautiful homemade door prizes.

 Soon all three halls, Basic, Mainstream, and Plus (with Rounds) were filled to capacity for every tip.  Paul Adams, Brian Crawford and Graham Ingram provided outstanding calling, and the many round dancers enjoyed Jean Clingin’s wonderful cuing.  Before we could believe it, 10 o’clock arrived, and it was time to eat.  

As always, the tables groaned under the load of mouth-watering food.  It seems as though Mississippi Squares has more than its share of culinary experts, and everyone savoured the amazing goodies.  Many thanks must go to our Social Convenors, Ken and Laurie Ingram, for coordinating the food and decorating, and for making sure that this was a dance to remember.  

If the comments of the departing crowd are anything to go by, a good time was had by all, especially our new Basic dancers, who thoroughly enjoyed their first opportunity to try out their newly-acquired skills.  In fact, we all had such a great time that we’ll definitely do it again next year.  See you then!