2013 in Review

One Eyed Parrot Dance Club

Where do I start?

2013 was by any measure, the most successful year in the 8 year History of the One Eyed Parrot dance club. Here’s a brief summary…

We rang in January breaking all attendance records for our Friday nights lessons. The need for addition dance space and venues caused us to start seeking additional places to dance.

Attendance

• In March we begin offering an 8 week Beginners Line dance session in Otis & weekly intermediate line lessons in Palmer.
• In April we began weekly beginner’s lessons Line & partner lessons in Granby.
• In November we were asked by the folks at the Southwick legion to start offering beginner line and Partner dances in Southwick. The first night at this location broke all previous attendance records for club lessons

 

Events

Besides our normal dance lessons, here are some (But not all) of the events we sponsored or took part in

• Country Dance Night in Russell
• Country Dance Weekend at East Hill Farm - March
• Mishnock Barn Rhode Trip
• Hampton Beach Rhode Trip
• KOC Western Night
• Cooks Orchard
• Mishnock and Friends Dance Weekend
• Martha’s Vineyard Rhode Trip
• Country Dance Weekend at East Hill Farm – December

 

Created / Firmly Established New Traditions

• Prime Rib Tuesdays in Granby

  

Communications

• Redesigned the Website
• Redesigned Event Calendars
• Customized the website for Mobile Devices
•  Established a Dedicated Club Phone Number
• Promoted all Events via Facebook

 Challenges Overcome

• The single biggest challenge we overcame in 2013 was the Fire at the Chicopee AMVETS. The fact that we branched out to other venues allowed the club continue offering lessons and dancing at other locations from April straight through to September when the AMVETS reopened after summer break.

 

Club Membership

This is by far the single most rewarding club metric.

 

The club has in the past year has more than doubled in membership. The long time friendships that we have been fortunate to establish and maintain over the past 8 years and new friendships that we as a group have cultivated in 2013 are by far the most satisfying of all achievements. It’s those friendships and the efforts of all our friends that keep the club, fun relevant and growing.

 

I’ve said it oft before, and I need to say it again… You Guys Rock!

 

Many Many Thanks for an AWESOME 2013 and wishing everyone an even MORE AWESOME 2014!!

 

Happy NewYear!   Enjoy a 2013 Picture Slideshow Here….

Awesome Autumn Update!

WOW! What an October this was!

Beside our regular Monday, Thursday and Friday night dancing we started off the month with a small demo and lessons for the nice folks at Keystone Woods in Springfield. The staff there rocks, joined in kicking up their heels during the lessons  and it was a pure joy to watch the residents enjoying the dancing and music.

We rolled in to mid-Month getting ready to travel down and teach at the Mishnock & Friends Country Weekend at the Hudson valley Resort. (Which by the way was awesome.) Made some wonderful new friends, learned cool dances and had a great time with the roughly 500 dancers in attendance. It was great to get so much positive feedback on our new Partner dance "Shouldn't be Thinking" Check out the video of the dance at Mishnock here..

We left Mishnock Sunday afternoon headed home unpacked, washed clothes, repacked went to bed and got up early for our Group Roadtrip to Martha's Vineyard. What a fun time with the nicest people you'd ever want to travel with.

 So now we'll be wrapping up the Month this week with our normal Monday Class, a Prime Rib Dinner at the Granby Legion Tuesday OCT 29 and then an ALL REQUEST Dance on Halloween in Palmer.

November News!! 
Yep! You heard right. We're starting Beginner Line & Partner Dance Lessons on Wednesday Nights in Southwick. on November 6th. The response has been overwhelming! We can't wait to get started. If you're within driving distance of Southwick tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your neighbors friends that Country Dancing is coming to Southwick! See ya on the Dance Floor!

Fall Update

HEY HEY HEY!! 

Well Summer Over and the Fall is finally here. It's been a while since the last Blog Update

So what went on? Lots! We Ushered in the 1st night of the OEP Fall season with Thursday Intermediate Nights at the Palmer Legion. We're seeing more and more old friends show up which just add's to the fun. Great night to learn intermediate dances and practice you favorite Line & Couples.

Monday Night's are Booming with Packed floors and new friends EVERY WEEK! Radio Ranch opened our Friday Nights at the AMVETS on Sept 6th and kept everyone up and dancing all night long. September 13th bought the Troubadours playing the Classic outlaw country sound mixed with hints of Rockabilly and Americana they're known for and Randy would up DJ'ing an all Line & Couples Dance night on Friday the 20th. We also did our annual trek to Cooks Orchard for Applefest.  

Another Monthly event that's rapidly becoming a tradition for us is Prime Rib Tuesday at the Granby Legion. What started out as a nice way to actively give back to a club that supports us, has turning into a great night for us all to get together for a Great Steak dinner for only $12!! 15 Parrots were there for the last one. the Next date is October 29th so mark your Calendars and add your name to the list on Mondays!

Chickenwire closed out our Sept Fridays in style and we wrapped up the Month at the Castle with Western Night Featuring Radio Ranch! Man what a busy Month!

Lots of Cool stuff coming up in October as well. Besides our normal dance nights, on October 18th -20th we'll be at the Hudson Valley Spa & Resort teaching at the Mishnock and Friends Country Weekend. If you've never been you got to check it out. It's absolutely Amazing! Click the Link for the Details..

http://www.oneeyedparrot.org/EventFlyers/Hudson.pdf

As soon as we get back we'll be Doing a OEP Roadtrip to the Vineyard giving an informal guided tour by a former resident. At least 11 going so far. If you'd like to join us here's the details. It's gonna be a blast.

http://www.oneeyedparrot.org/EventFlyers/OEPMV.pdf

BTW Halloween Falls on a Thursday this Year. I think we should do a Party. Whadda You think? Let me know... 

More Cool Stuff  Before Winter... Check back for Updates, in the mean time....

Get Your Dance On with the Parrot... 

The One Eyed Parrot

What a OEP SUMMER!

For the One Eyed Parrot Dance Club, this summer has been nothing short of ...

Thanks to Lauri and Wayne, we ushered the summer in with 

the Waylau BBQ and for the 1st time in club history, offered 2 nights of dancing all through the summer with Beginners Nights in Granby and Intermediate Nights in Palmer. Check out all the dances we taught since the end of May...

In August we preclosed the summer season with the OEP Annual Road-trip to Hampton Beach and what an amazing time it was with well over twenty parrots descending on the unsuspecting beach goers in New Hampshire. And, for the record, it is now certain that Ray Zerkle knows whether it's her or the Rum.... We built an Island, Raised our flag, claimed it as our own and successfully  avoided getting kicked off the beach. (Who knew they have rules of how deep your holes on the beach can be?) We welcomed in the sun on the beach each morning, flew, danced and sang in typical Parrot style. In the company of both new and old friends we made memories that will last for years to come! **PICTURES**

We will be wrapping up the last two OEP Dance nights of August in Granby and Palmer and then it will be Time for the Fall Season to Begin!!

Kicking off the new season will be Line Dance Lessons in Palmer on September 5th (NO lesson in Granby on Sept 2, Labor Day Monday!) Then on Friday September 6th we'll be back for the 1st night of lessons and dancing at the Chicopee Amvets) Lessons will be followed by the One and Only, Radio Ranch, kickin' it till closing. 

Speaking of the Ranch you get to see them again in September because they'll also be performing at the KOC Western Night at The Castle. Great time Last year. See me for tickets!!! Click here for info...

Then in OCTOBER (October 18th - 20th to be exact)  we are heading down to teach at 

We got the chance to go in the Spring and it was Absolutely AMAZING! The sheer breadth of the event was phenomenal with so many different styles and levels of dance to choose from.  If you want to have a selection of instructors, levels and dance styles to pick from, this is the place to go! Check it Out!!...............

The meals are to die for and the open bars offer a nice relaxing break between sessions and give folks a chance to mingle. Dan & Kelly run a wonderful event and are two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. We learned some of our best dances of the year here.  Can't Wait!! Check out the Flyer here and book now!

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!