A first-of-its-kind collaboration between two Ojai Valley service clubs will see the community kicking up its heels this fall. The Rotary Club of Ojai and the Ojai Valley Lions Club will host four contra dances at the Ojai Art Center, with assistance from the Disabled American Veterans, Ventura Chapter 24.
According to Sue Gilbreth, community service director for the Rotary Club of Ojai, contra is similar to square dancing, except it’s done in lines rather than in a four-couple square, “with a live, old-time string band and a caller who will teach the dancing,” she said.
With contra dancing, no experience is necessary and participants don’t need a partner, Gilbreth told the Ojai Valley News. Dancers can meet and dance with different partners throughout the evening, she said.
Gilbreth, who called the series of dances “a gift for the Ojai Valley community,” has taken part in contra dances before, but as a fiddle player rather than a dancer.
Tickets are $10 per person and will be available on PayPal and at the door.
The dates for the other three contra dances are Sunday, Oct. 23, Saturday, Nov. 19 and Sunday, Dec. 18.
All dances are from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Ojai Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai.
Click here to read full article published in the Ojai Valley News 9/25/2022 edition, written by Perry Van Houten. Photo credit: Dr. Carl Gross
Ojai Valley Lions Club 