A Busy Weekend

We began the weekend Friday night by going to the Hollin Hall Senior Center to listen to the Mount Vernon Swing Band. We always enjoy their music. One of the things we really like is that they don't play the same songs over and over. They play at Hollin Hall every other month. Every time they have a completely different play list. I don't know of any other band that has such an extensive song list.

Last night we had the first dance of the season with the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. This was a formal dance at the Country Club of Fairfax. It's always fun to get dressed up and go dancing. The Regal has 7 dances this year, all at the CCF. There are 5 that are formal and 2 that are Tea dances.

Tonight we are visiting Kathy and Randy. Their clubhouse is having a Polka night. We're looking forward to lost of good German food and working off the calories to an Om-Pa band.

New Season with the Friday Nighters Dance Club

We belong to the Friday Nighters Dance Club. The dance season started this month. We hold our dances on the 2nd Friday of each month from September through June at the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church. The music is provided by the Family Band.

I was elected as Vice President this year. This means I get to help set up and clean up the dances. We have a pretty good group of members and most everyone pitches in for a turn. I figure if I'm going to join a club I owe it to myself to participate. It's been my experience that the more I contribute, the more I get out of a club.

We're looking forward to another season of dancing.

Milonga at Freedom Plaza

It was a beautiful evening last night and we took full advantage of it by going downtown to Freedom Plaza for the Milonga a la Libertad. There was a good crowd and we saw a couple of people that we know. The schedule of Argentine Tango events around the area is maintained by the Capital Tanqueros. This is a Milonga that is held every Sunday evening during the summer. The calendar goes through the first Sunday in October at this point. There won't be many Sundays left before the season is over. We hope the weather holds so we can enjoy the dancing as many times as possible.

Freedom Plaza is located on Pennsyvania Avenue between the Reagan Building and the National Theatre. It's adjacent to Pershing Park and just a few blocks from the White House. The western end of the plaza contains a large fountain, while the eastern end contains an equestrian statue of Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish soldier who saved the life of George Washington and became a general in the Continental Army. There’s also a giant stone map of the District of Columbia, as designed by Pierre L'Enfant.

The Plaza doesn't have the best dance surface. It's granite with inscriptions chisled into the surface. We've had a time trying to find the best kind of shoes to wear on the Plaza. We ended up each having a pair made especially with Freedom Plaza in mind when we went to Buenos Aires a couple of years ago.

The video was taken using my phone. It is facing the fountain and I hope it gives an idea about the dancing. I apologize for the poor video quality.