Summertime, Summertime

Well Summer appears to have been thrust upon us.

Let's see, what's goin on...

Had a great trip to Mishnock got to see old friends and make new ones. 34 of us trekked to the Barn and as always, Dan & Kelly were the ultimate hosts, even inviting us out to hear a band with them at JC's after the Barn Closed. You want a great time this fall? Wanna  learn a smorgasbord of cool dances? The you have to check out the Hudson Valley Dance weekend in October at the Hudson Valley Resort & Spa (map). It is truly an amazing event with 6 Lesson Rooms and over 60 hours of Dance Instruction including, Beginner, Country, All Request & Lead & Follow Evening Dances. (And did I mention 2 open bars)

Click here info Mishnock & Friends 2013

Here are some of the ones taught at Hudson Valley  in March...  Back in the Day,  50 Ways,  Drive by Baby,  Every Storm,  Hootenanny,  Lovin' Tonight,  Sweet Revenge... Just to name a few......

PALMER -Last Thursday was a Cool night both with dancing and the fact that the Palmer AC units rock! It may have been 91Degrees outside but the OEP's we're cool all night long! We reviewed Sweet Revenge and Hootenanny and then taught Have you ever see the Rain (By Request) It's has nice to have some of our Monday night people join us. 
This week we'll be learning a wicked cool low intermediate Dance "Half Past Nothin'" which you are gonna love! 

CHICOPEE - Got the word back from the Chicopee AMVETS that the 1st Friday night back will be June 21st. The band schedules appear to be changed so we'll let you know who's playing when we find out. 



GRANBY - We missed  our new friends last week due to the Holiday but will be back on June 3rd with a brand new Dan Albro Dance and the last night of the 6 week Beginner 2 Step Lessons. 

Starting next week and going forward as our beginners progress we will be moving to a high Beginner / Low Intermediate teach format with a Partner Dance teach.  (Similar to the Teach format at the Chicopee AMVETS without the band)

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Upcoming Events

• July 13 The Waylau OEP Pot Luck BBQ
• July 21st Harmony House Benefit & Demo
• August 22-24 Hampton Beach Road Trip
• October 18-20 Mishnock & Friends Hudson Valley 
• October 22-24th (Tentative)  Martha's Vineyard Laid-back and Chillin, Informal Tour & Rode Trip
• December 6-8th East Hill Farm Country Weekend

Mid-May Update

Great Week dancing last week in Granby and Palmer. 

On Monday we taught several  beginners dances for all the new folks and Kept moving along with our basic Two-Step class. Nice group of folks and great dance hall.

Last Thursday we did the final review of 50 Ways (Still a way cool dance) and taught the oldie Suds in a Bucket by request.  It's even better now that we have a bad that plays that song on a regular basis. (Chickenwire) Like Granby we had a good sized group for the lessons and had non-stop all request dancing  till 10PM. 

Speaking of Bands, as most of you know the Chicopee AMVETS, Post 12 had some fire and water

damage last week.  Word is... Clean up began almost immediately and restoration is well underway. Expect Post 12 to be reopened sooner rather than later.. Will keep you updated as we know.

This Monday May 13th we'll be back in Granby with some more line dances for our beginners to learn and some new Two step moves for our couples to perfect.

Thursday we'll be back in Palmer with a wicked Cool Dance that Dan Albro showed us down at Hudson Valley. It's fun and engaging, you'll love it. Speaking of Palmer, No more Lady's Aux meetingstill August , so grab some supper and head out to the Palmer legion for a fun Night of all request Line and Partner Dancing!

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Upcoming Events

Friday Cancellation

The AMVETS is Closed this Friday May 10th. 
No Lessons or Dancing on Friday.

Stickin' it out with Radio Ranch

Last Week Wrap Up

Monday - Beginners Line & Two Step Lessons last Monday at the Granby American Legion was

Awesome. We had a 35% increase in attendance week over week. Great to see so many newbies & make so many new friends. Line dancers & Two Steps all picking up very well. 

Tuesday - was the last of our 8 Week sessions in Otis. A little sad, got meet some great folks and make new friends but I expect we'll see going they from time to time going forward. Great Experience.

Thursday - @ the Palmer Legion was Awesome, great turnout and got Ton's of dancing in. I'm getting emails back with comments like "My new favorite dance night .  I love all that non stop dancing."  &  "We are having a great time on Thursday nights!!!!!" Which I'm glad to hear 'cause we are too! Did a full reteach of 50 Ways. What a great Song and Dance! This week is the 2nd Tuesday of the month so DOORS OPEN at 7PM. The Lady's Aux has their meeting 6-7.

Last Friday -  was an awesome night of great Country music with the One and Only Radio Ranch. 

I don't think that it would be an overstatement to say that it seemed that all the Line Dancers were absolutely glued on their performance. I'm not sure if it was an adhesive interaction between an artist and their audience or something else but there seemed to be an unusual bond that evening that shared by Line dancers and freestylers alike. The band adhered to their time tested tradition of playing Party Crowd and in return many of us opted to stick around and actually stuck it out with them till closing.  Oh yeah and we taught a new Partners dance... 

BTW 3 Weeks to MISHNOCK!!! 

http://www.oneeyedparrot.org/mishnock2013.html

Here's the line up for this week.............................

Branchin' Out! Mid-April OEP Update

Things have been really rocking with the One Eyed Parrot Dance Club! Here's a quick Update...

Tuesday Night 8 Week Beginner sessions in OTIS 

Well our 8 week session is winding down with just 2 weeks left to go. Made some great new friends and it was immensely satisfying to see them able to get out on the dance floor with us last Saturday night at the Russell VFW event (Sponsored by the AMVETS). We want to give a big shout out to Wendy and Kevin for sponsoring these beginner sessions, Kris for coming out and supporting and Maria for assisting every week. 
You guys Rock.....

Country Dance Night at the Russell VFW (Sponsored by the AMVETS)

Speaking of Russell, last Saturday was awesome with 92 people in attendance!! We had more people ask for business cards in 1 night than in the last 2 months. The people that run the place were very friendly and all around great folks and by the way, Chickenwire REALLY rocked the house. If you missed them, the BAD NEWS is you missed a great show. These guys were awesome! The GOOD NEWS is they’re ALWAYS AWESOME and you get another chance to see them, this Friday, April 26th at the Chicopee AMVETS. Playing upbeat toe tapping rhythms, they will keep you up on the floor and dancing all night long with a mix of Country, Rock n Roll, hot Southern Rock. See ya there.

Dance Night Thursdays in Palmer

Thursdays are rocking with intermediate Line Dance lessons followed by non-stop dancing till 10 PM.  Not only do we now have a venue to teach more intermediate dances but we get the time to practice all the ones we love and never get to do! Another neat part of Thursdays is that when the Chicopee AMVETS shuts down in the summer we'll still have a dance venue to support that will leave all our weekends free for outdoor summery type stuff!! Did someone say Hampton Beach?

New Venue Granby!

Starting Monday night April 22, we're starting beginner Line dance and Basic 2 Step in Granby, Ma. Starting at 6:30 at the American Legion near the corner of 202 and Pleasant we'll kick things off with Beginner Line until 7:30 and then kick off a 4-6 Week series of beginner 2 Step lessons. Got a lot of great feedback from folks about this location and the beginners sessions , so we're really looking forward to it. These lessons are specifically geared to the brand new dancer and will focus heavily on the basics of Frame, Lead & Follow, etc. This hall has a great wood floor and plenty of parking so spread the word.

Other Upcoming EVENTS - Save the Dates

• May 25& 26 Mishnock Barn Rhode Trip
• June 21st - Almost Summer Bash at the Chicopee AMVETS
• July 13 The Waylau OEP Pot Luck BBQ
• July 21st Harmony House Benefit & Demo
• August 22-24 Hampton Beach Road Trip
• October 21-23rd  Martha's Vineyard Laid-back Informal Tour & Rode Trip
• December 6-8th East Hill Farm Country Weekend

Districtus Aprilis

Wow! Things are getting busy at the One Eyed Parrot Dance Club. We added another night of intermediate lessons & dancing (Thursdays) at the American Legion in Palmer and will be starting Beginner Line & Basic 2 Step Lessons at the American Legion in Granby on Monday April 22nd. April will also have us finishing up the last 4 weeks of our 8 Week beginner course in Otis. 

April 2013

You'll get a chance to meet some of our new Otis Line Dancing friends at the Russell VFW on April 20th. That's when we'll be heading out for Dinner at the Russell Inn before teaching and being entertained with Live Music provided by our friends with Chickenwire. 

Regarding Thursdays specifically, we've had a GREAT turn out seeing between 30 & 40 dancers join us each night. Besides adding a new venue to teach low intermediate dances, the extra time gives us a chance to practice all our favorites and bring back ones we haven't done in a while. How cool is that!! Check out our Calendar for all the latest dates and info. Click for Calendar

Palmer Legion

Last Thursday we reviewed Wake Up Little Susie and taught our brand new dance Miranda's Broken Heart to the song Mama's Broken Heart by Miranda Lambert. It will be on Kickit and Coppperknob shortly. Until then you can find it HERE! We'll be doing a teach and demo video shortly. Thanks for the great feedback on this one.

Dan & Kelly Albro

Last Friday's lessons were all Albro, all Night. We reviewed Dan's new Line dance Back in the Day (Great Dance) and then Taught his new Partner Dance, Every Storm (Another Great Dance). Remember  our Rhode Trip to Mishnock is May 25th. Can't wait! 

Radio Ranch

After the lessons we got a night full of high energy entertainment by one of the finest, most versatile country bands around, Radio Ranch! You really had to be there. This was a case of  top notch musician at the top of their game. They were in the zone! The energy was electric. We helped close the place down at midnight with more people then I've seen at that hour in a long long time. Remember,  Radio Ranch, 1st Friday, every month.



Next Thursday the Palmer Legion has a recurring post meeting from 6-8PM. (This will happen the 2nd Tuesday of EVERY MONTH) so we will be starting  at 8PM with an all request dance from 8PM-10PM (No Lessons) . Get a chance to practice your favorites! We will be starting at our normal time the following week.

Truck Stop Troubadours

Next Friday the Truck Stop Troubadours will be back to entertain you with that 4/4 foot stompin' two steppin',house rockin',diesel truckin', beer drinkin' music with a definite uptempo beat that'll get your boot's knocking and your butts rockin'. 

So come on out and join us. For the lessons we'll be reviewing the Partner Dance Every Storm and will have a new line dance for you to try out.  
See ya there!

Martius Maximus

East Hill Farm - Last Friday, Saturday & Sunday was the East Hill Farm weekend! Yeah 20 of so Parrots trekked up to Troy NH for a weekend of Friends, Food and Fun. Made a lot of new friends, received repetitive lessons on proper tennis ball retrieval from Chloe and some of us even earned awards for our apparent lack of inhibition. Learned a lot of cool dances and got to teach some of our club favorites. 

We also got to celebrate Phil's Diamond Jubilee on St Patty's day. Many Thanks to Paula, Michael, Tammy & Dennis for making us feel so welcome on our first time there. Also many thanks to Al, Marge, Bill, Doraine, Bill & Linda for recommending us. We've been invited back as guest Instructors in December and permanent instructors for March. Noticed a Lot of people were booking for next March when they checked out. If you're interested don't wait to book. Check out the East Hill Farms website here.

Dance Thursdays in Palmer!

March 21st was the scene of the 1st Thursday dance night at the American Legion in Palmer. It was great to see so many folks come out to support it, (I know it's a hike for some and closer for others) We had about 40 People turn up for the debut dance night  and after warming up started out with a teach of Alabama Slammin' by Popular request. Got to dance a lot of old favorites and refresh ourselves on some of the harder ones. John & Lisa with the Legion were very welcoming. Many thanks to Wayne & Lauri for working with the Legion to provide us a place to dance. Another cool part about Thursday's is that we plan to run it through the summer. So when the AMVETS closes down Country Bands and Line Dance lessons at the end of June, we'll all get to dance on Thursday and still have our weekends free for BBQ, Long weekend trips to the beach etc etc etc. Also we plan on Adding Partner dances to the teach schedule (Intermediate Line & Partners during the Summer) and going back to to the original schedule come fall. Next Thursday we will review Alabama Slammin and still deciding on our next intermediate teach, Any suggestions?

Tonight at The Chicopee AMVETS

Tonight, March 22nd, we will be entertained by the premier oldies band in Western Mass, JUST-N-KASE. Yup Deb and the Gang will be back with a little country, a little rock and roll and a little of whatever gets you on the floor and dancing. Great band , nice people. The teaches for tonight will be a review of the line dance Fill in the Blank and then a new partner dance to a great song by Tammy Bosse and Dennis Bosse, 1% Devil. see ya there.

Long Term Planning!!! 

Join us in May and August for our Annual Road trips.

MARTHA's VINEYARD 

Great Initial Response to our Road Trip to Martha’s Vineyard in October.  Yup we’re talking a 3 day getaway just off peak season for a nice Chill- Laxing (Non-Dancing) visit to the land of the Wampanoag. Informal tour by a former Islander. Beautiful Fall sunrises over Katama, Nice beach walks on Chappaquiddick, The Japanese Garden, The Cliffs at Gay Head, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, Social hour at the Newes and nice dinner at the Square Rigger. etc etc etc. Stay Tuned, we'll keep ya posted!!!

Easthill Farm Country Dance Weekends

The next two dates for East Hill Farm are December 6-8 and March 14-16. The Weekend Packages includes: 2 night lodging, 6 home cooked meals, 5 dance sessions w/lessons- line & partner, late night snacks, indoor pool, whirlpool & sauna, time to relax and old fashion fun! All request dancin' on Fri & Sat night, karaoke late night!  For more info www.east-hill-farm.com For reservations (800)242-6495 and tell em' Randy Sent ya!