FeBrrrruary is the Frosty Fling (?and Beach Party?)

Frosty Fling has historically been one of the first dances that our new dancers could attend. Well, nothing's changed for this first dance of 2026 except that the 2-caller 2-room format now allows us to add Plus and Advanced levels as well. For "New Dancers", it's your time to party and dance and get out of the teaching/learning rut and just enjoy dancing, and strut your stuff to two different callers.

Now, to pique your interest, the theme for this year's Frosty Fling is a Beach Party. Yeah, ... I know, ... "Frosty" and "Beach" don't unusually appear in the same sentence unless it's something like "an ice-cold Frosty glass of beer while sitting on the sand in a Beach chair".

Sorry, but no beer! Likely no sand either. But there'll be chairs, LOTS of chairs. You can bring your beach towel to reserve your personal chair in front of the pool ... er... dance floor. And dig out that old Hawaiian shirt that you haven't worn for three years and put it on .... even over something with long sleeves if you're still worried about staying warm with the "frosty" theme. And ladies, you must have something with flowers on it.

If you can safely dance in sandals, why not? Socks are allowed in the sandals. Flip Flops? ... hmmm ... well maybe not. If you're felling presidential, maybe some orange tanning agent. And sun glasses! -- Maybe bring sun glasses. There's no telling how bright the costumes will be. And who knows what those guys on stage will be wearing.

And in keeping with the idea of needing to travel to a beach destination, you can easily drive over to the South Greenville District High School in Prescott in less time than it takes you to get thru security and customs at the airport.

So see you there ... with all us older more experienced dancers coming out to support you.

You can view the flyer here.

Swing into Spring Dance is Gone

It with reluctance and disappointment that we inform you EOSARDA and the Swing into Spring committee have made the very difficult decision to cancel Swing into Spring, not only for May 2026 but permanently. As the number square dancers shrinks and the newer dancers do not travel it has become harder and harder to find volunteers to join the planning committee and to work this weekend event. We just were not able to convince, bribe, or threaten enough EOSARDA members to become committee members to insure a successful and fun dance event.

Since its inception, Swing into Spring has been a successful weekend of dancing and friendship, attracting dancers not only from Eastern Ontario but from a far west as Calgary, east as Montreal, and south as Pennsylvania. Over the years it has featured many forms of dance - old fashioned square dance, modern square dance, round dance, line dance, whatever style was popular. Swing into Spring has hosted many international callers and leaders providing a weekend of excellent experiences and a weekend many dancers attended annually.

The decision not to continue the event was not made lightly. We thank the hundreds of dancers and many volunteers who have supported this event, particularly over the past 6 challenging years.

Sincerely
Swing Into Spring Organizing Committee

PS. The email links are currently still active. Treasurer@SwingIntoSpring.ca and Secretary@SwingIntoSpring.ca.

Turn up the volume

Members of the Swinging B's in Cornwall dancing at the Lost Villages museum in Long Sault on Canada Day. The dance floor was rough but the dancers were smooth. Congratulations!

February is Visit Month!

OK, OK ... I made that up. But take a look around you at your club. Where are the people? The snow birds have already left, others are taking a well-deserved 2 week vacations in the sun and the cold season has reduced attendance even more.

Some smaller clubs will find it hard to form two squares ... or sometimes even one square. You know what's better than having 6 or 7 dancers sitting out during a tip? YOU! Yes you ... visiting a club could perhaps be what's needed to complete a full square.

So don't make a liar out of me. Let's make February your time to visit another club. Phone ahead or just drop in. They'll be happy to see you and you'll be glad you did.

Any questions? ... shouldn't be. Just get out and visit!

Rewrite to accommodate new requirements

It's been a long time since 1979 when EOSARDA was first incorporated in Ontario. Since then, our constitution and by-laws have been revised periodically -- the last by-law revision was in 2003. Legislation governing not-for-profit organizations in Ontario has changed recently requiring EOSARDA to review and update its by-laws. Your Board of Directors has completed that work and the November 2023 Council of Dancers meeting approved the amendment.

The amended by-laws meet the standard required by the new legislation and incorporate our former constitution and by-laws into a single document, now called our by-laws. The by-laws also reflect better the way EOSARDA operates while providing greater flexibility in the way we conduct business.

You can find the amended by-laws on this site under the "Associations" menu or directly by clicking here More details can be found in an EOSARDA Bulletin about the new by-laws.

Any questions relating to the amended by-laws should be directed to Secretary@EOSARDA.ca