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All - Travel - Travel: 2005 - Seattle (2005)

May 28, 2005: In Seattle

Posted June 1, 2005 14:22 | Category: Seattle (2005) | #

Saturday afternoon, I went to my cousin Matt's wedding (which was the whole reason for this trip, after all). My mother had flown up for the wedding, and most of the other people were relatives and friends of the bride and groom who lived in the Seattle area. It was a lovely outdoor wedding and the weather coöperated. They had it at a beautiful old house in the Queen Anne area of Seattle. After the wedding itself the reception was held in the same location. Following the reception the "just married" car pulled up - a beautifum 1929 Bentley which would take them to the honeymoon suite at a luxury downtown hotel, prior to their trip to Mexico for their honeymoon.

After the wedding, I visited the Northwest Folklife festival and had dinner while watching a Swedish fiddle band Äkta Spelmän, and Perttu Paappanen, Finnish 2-Row Button Accordion Master, while people danced. I then heard there was a Contra dance in another building, so I went there and danced the night away until they closed at midnight. I didn't realize how I had missed Contra dancing. When we lived in Santa Cruz I used to go regularly, but my wife Holly didn't enjoy it as much so I stopped. I actually ran into two guys at the Contra dance whom I had known in Santa Cruz!

For those who may not know what Contra dance is, it's a form of dance similar to square dancing: the music is much the same, and there is a caller who tells you what steps to take. Most of the steps are the same, too. But the difference is that with Contra dancing you form long lines of couples and dance in groups of four people. After each time through the music, you "progress" so that you are dancing with a different couple. Also, unlike square dancing, the caller stops calling after a few times through the dance, and you just keep repeating the same figures, unlike square dancing where he can confuse things by introducing changes just when you think you have it down. Also, in Contra dancing you are always dancing with new people: half of the couples are "actives" and migrate away from the stage, while the other half move the other way. When you reach the end you sit out for one round and then go back in as the other type of couple. It's a good cardio workout and when everyone is moving perfectly in sync it's just a great feeling.

I had a great time! There was a lot of stuff that I missed - dance, music, arts, and food from around the world. Next year I want to go for the whole 3-day event, and Holly and I are already talking about taking the train up together for it. But this time we'll probably get a sleeper, or break the trip up into shorter legs so we can sleep in a hotel.

Click the big picture to go to the set page on Flickr, or click on an individual photo. Or, you can view a slideshow of the photos.

3 comments

Comments:

Re: May 28, 2005 (In Seattle)
Guru wrote on Thu, 02 Jun 2005 16:08

Was the Contra Dance Band called "Contraband"? :-)

Re: Re: May 28, 2005 (In Seattle)
Bill Ward wrote on Thu, 02 Jun 2005 17:18

No, but punny names are very common in the world of Contra Dance. For example: http://www.contradancelinks.com/bands.html There isn't a "Contraband" on that list, but there is a "Contra Banditos"...

Re: May 28, 2005 (In Seattle)
Evgeniy Petrsyan wrote on Wed, 31 Aug 2005 12:25

cool

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Last updated: 09/19/2007 William R. Ward, bill@wards.net