Evening activities will take advantage of our beautiful camp and temperate summer nights. The schedule is presently being finalized - but look for it to include activities for all tastes:
Thursday Evening - TV Game Show Night Ice Breakers
Yep ... come prepared to meet new people as we "break the ice" after dinner the first night. A new and creative format this year -- TV Game Show Night! With hysterical re-interpretations of Jeopardy, Hollywood Squares, Wheel of fortune and others in team formats, we'll start your weekend off with tons of fun.
Shabbat services will begin the evening, then additional programming will follow (TBD. Stay tuned! Suggestions are being taken; contact event@mosaicoutdoor.org).
Saturday Night - Havdallah, Contra Dancing & Campfire
"Ladies - chain across, return home and do-si-do your partner then all swing." Such will be your vocabulary Saturday night when we feature an activity that calls New England, especially New Hampshire, home: The contra dance. Before the dance we'll close out Shabbat with Havdallah under the stars. And after the dance we will have a bonfire that will start early enough for everyone to join us. Robert Messore, one of the evening's band members (and part of the bedrock of the CT folk music scene), will play guitar and lead the singing.
So what is Contra dance, anyway? Contra dancing is social interaction, meeting people, and making new friends, set to music. The rest is just details. Legendary caller Bill Fischer and the band Wry Bred will lead us in this traditional form of folk dancing. It is the original American folk dance, developed as a "social" way of meeting neighbors. It evolved from traditional 17th century English dances that were imported with the earliest immigrants. Because the dances evolved as a way for communities to interactive with everyone in a friendly social fashion, it is the ideal group activity. The dancing is to a live band that plays music based in old English and Celtic traditions. There is always a fiddle player, a guitarist, and an assortment of other instruments along for the fun.
Don't fret if you have 2 left feet or have never danced before . No worries about finding a partner. These are not issues. Bill will pair you up if he sees you alone, make sure we introduce ourselves to each other, then walk us through the steps of each dance before the band starts playing. You and your partner will dance with all the other folks in the line, or perhaps go off "on your own" around the circle! We'll switch partners between dances so we all get to mingle and meet.
Bill has been calling dances for over thirty years, starting out in New Haven, Connecticut with the contra dance series that has been a fixture of the folk music and dance scene since 1976. In addition to contra dances in and around the northeast, he has called at various dance camps regionally and nationally. What to wear? Doesn't really matter! Anything goes. Some women wear gathered skirts that fly out when they swing. Flat broken in shoes with a non-stick sole are best, but sandals and sneakers will work. Many people even dance barefoot! Please be kind to your fellow dancer and leave the perfume and cologne at home.
Sunday Night - TBD
If past years have been any indication - our last night will be the most fun of all. Stay tuned!
Every Night - Campfires!
A Mosaic tradition! Say no more. On Saturday night, Robert Messore, CT folk music legend, will play guitar and lead the singing.