Hosted by The Fundy Region
IT WAS GREAT!!!
Congratulations to the Fundy Regionand all the Festival Organizers
You have Reason to be Proud.

The following awards are to be presented to Federation members by the President or his/herdesignate at the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) or other suitable dance function.

SERVICE [Given in recognition of service to the Square & Round Dance Activity]

1. MAYFLOWER AWARD - An award of excellence in recognition of 20 years or more of outstanding contribution at the local, and/or regional, and/or provincial level. Nominations may be presented by a club or five or more square/round dance couples from anywhere in the province. Nominations must include the credentials of the candidate, which will be read at the presentation of the award. Deadline for submission is March 30th of the year in which the award is to be presented. The number of awards is limited to two per year, but it will not be mandatory to present two per year. The Award Committee will present the names of candidates to the Executive for its approval.

2. CALLERS/CUERS to be recognized at retirement for services of 10 years or more. Active callers/cuers to be recognized for 20 years of service and every 5 years thereafter.

LONGEVITY [Given in recognition of long term enjoyment in the Square & Round DanceActivity]

1. CLUBS - Certificates of 20 years of continuous dancing and every 5 years thereafter.

2. DANCER - Individual recognition of 20 years of continuous dancing.

SRDFNS President, Bob Ruohonemi, chaired the Awards Ceremony at Festival 2003 in Truro. The Award Committee Chaircouple, Laurence & Alice Harrison, produced the certificates andread the criteria for both the Longevity and Service Awards. Committee members Dan &Janette Burke arranged the seating and did the ushering. Murray & Jean Berry, Fundy RegionRepresentatives, presented the awards to dancers and club representatives. Alex Ritchie was theofficial photographer and producer of the Mayflower Award Certificates.

To Beth & John Dickinson in recognition of 20 years of Round Dance Leadership.

RECIPIENTS OF AWARDS AT FESTIVAL 2003

The above award recipients, except for the Mayflower Award recipients, all dance in theFundy Region and the Fundy Region made a special effort to find those eligible for any of theawards.

Check the "What are the Federation Awards?" above. Are you or your club eligiblefor any of these awards? If you are, then please let your Regional Representative and/or theAwards Committee know about it, They want to give these Award Certificates away.
Look how happy they are after giving away those at the Festival.
On the left are Clara and Harold Redden,
On the right are Janette and Dan Burke,
And in the centre are:Chaircouple,
Alice and Laurence Harrison.
41 Clifford St.,
Amherst, NS B4H 2G3
landaharrison@eastlink.ca

The Dance, with Caller Norm Wilcox from Ontario, held at the conclusion of Alguire MemorialCallers School in Debert was exceptional. One couple short of 14 squares danced and danced onhardwood floors and cooled off on the patios between tips. During the evening eleven maritimestudents callers and their partners received certificates of completion. From Nova Scotia were:Ralph & Barb Macdonald, Fran & Roger Archambault, George & Wendy Michaels,Pat & Marilyn Matheson, Laurie & Wilma Illsley, Alex Ritchie & Bernice Thurber; and from NewBrunswick were: Faye & Jerry Germon, Bruce & Donna Russell, Chris Ayres & Edie Hoar.
Congratulations Dottie Welch & The Alguire Memorial Callers Fund Committee for a greatSchool & Dance.

This picture of Pat Alguire, School Staff, and students
was not available in time to be included with the printed version.
Laurie & Wilma Illsley are hiding behind Bruce Russell & Faye Germon

On Friday 11 July 2003 Four Season Squares hosted the Third Annual Square Dance to Kick Offthe Bear River Cherry Carnival. This was held at the Bear River Fire Hall and the Guest Callerfor the evening was Marty Vanwart, from Shawmut, Maine. Marty was accompanied to NovaScotia by his wife Marion. Caller/Cuer Ron Lowe, from Saint John, New Brunswick, provided the Rounds for the evening. There wereeighteen squares inattendance and quite a number of spectators. Dancers came from all over Nova Scotia and NewBrunswick. Half-way through the evening a number of "Cherry" related prizes were drawn. Shirley Delucry from Fredericton, New Brunswick received the prize for the "Out of ProvinceDancer." Before serving the lunch a blessing was given by Club Member, Bill Troupe. Theevening concluded with the Friendship Ring. Everyone then socialized and enjoyed a bountiful lunch which ended with "Cherry Pie" and "CherryVanilla Ice Cream."










Plans for a Fourth Kick Off Dance are in the works for Friday 09 July 2004.Check your Calendar of Events for details as they become available.
                              Wayne and Linda Isles, Caller
                              Four Season Squares

August 8 th was our annual Scallop Days Dance and unfortunately like most days now for abouta week and a half, it rained again. Our outdoor dance, scheduled on the boardwalk, wasswitched to our regular hall at 113Queen Street. Parents, Children, Grand Parents, Tourists, Experienced Dances, Novice Dancersfilled the hall to the point where only 4 seats remained vacant. Our school group started theevening square dancing, then we had a mainstream tip with adult dancers. We then did a mixerwhich was known by many. Then we had another adult tip. Then we taught an easy dance to 30people or so, and had a great time with children andadults dancing together. No generation gap here. A children's square and an adult square thendanced another tip. A good time was spent inside, the rain dampened the land, but not ourspirits. Indeed we all had enough of looking outside at the rain. We hope you have enjoyedyourselves in your own way, and can experience special times like we did last evening.
                              Terry and Marsha Lewis, Caller/Cuer
                              Admiral Dancers

This year The Alguire Callers Memorial Fund sponsored the first Alguire Memorial CallersSchool which was a great success. Nova Scotian student callers attending this school had fiftypercent of their tuition fee covered by The Alguire Callers Memorial Fund. Dancers, whosecaller attended this school, should notice the increased abilities of their caller. Clubs, Dancers,& Callers I hope you consider making donations or raising funds for The Alguire CallersMemorial Fund so that similar schools and other worthy projects may be held in the future.Please make your donation payable to The Alguire Memorial Callers Fund and send care ofAlex Ritchie, Treasurer, 58 Oakdale Crescent, Dartmouth, NS     B3A 2L8

On May 31st Fun Time Rounds celebrated their 20th Anniversary at St. Clement's Parish ChurchHall, Gaston Road in Dartmouth, NS. From all reports the 35 couples in attendance had a greattime.Larry & Margie Clark, Club cuers (1999 to present) thanked everyone for coming and makingthe night a special one. They thanked all the cuers and callers in attendance for their support andwelcomed all dancers, especially those not from the local area, such as Moncton, NB, Amherstand the Annapolis Valley.

The founder of the club, Tom Keighan, came all the way from Niagara Falls, Ont. for theoccasion. Tom really enjoyed himself. He didn't sit out too many dances and was alwayssurrounded by the women. His daughters Joan (Dave) and Cathy came with Tom to see theirDad "strut his stuff" and they weren't disappointed.Tom's wife Marg, who passed away in February 2002, was the cuer of the Club and it wasalways amazing that she could do an evening's program and not look at a cue sheet. She was aspecial lady. Tom & Marg started the Club in 1983 until 1986.

Many past members came to the dance including the Club's first president, Rose (Elmer) Caborn,past cuers Lionel & Janet Crowe (1986 to 1988) and John & Valerie Pinks (1988 to 1999)participated in the program by cueing a couple of tips. It was so nice to see everyone having agreat time. Many pictures of long ago were on display as well as a sample of what dances werepopular 20 years ago. Some of these are classics today. Larry surprised the crowd byintroducing a guest cuer. Margie stepped up to the mike and cued a waltz. Margie always likesto have a little bit of fun during any dance and she thought this would do it and it did!

Following the dance, Tom and all Fun Time Rounds' Cuers cut the beautiful Anniversary cake. Lunch was then served. Special thanks go to Grace Manuel and Ruby Roy who took charge ofthe kitchen and to Milford Roy for decorating the hall.
                                Submitted by Margie Clark

FESTIVAL 2003 WERE YOU THERE?
Here are some of the Callers and Dancers that were there.

The CALLERLAB dance program committees want to encourage quality dancing at allCALLERLAB dance programs. The primary impediment to achieving this goal comes fromdancers moving through dance programs too quickly.

Each of the CALLERLAB dance program committees recommends that dancers stay andenjoy each program for as long as possible. Moving on is not a recommended way to becomeproficient at one's current dance program. Also, moving on is not implied nor expected simplybecause subsequent programs exist.

ALL dancers who wish to learn the next program should have:

1. Thorough comprehension (intellectual knowledge) of the material called at their currentand prior programs.
2. Competency in execution of the calls (physical response).
3. Exposure to multiple callers at the current program (live or recorded).
4. The ability to execute calls according to definition in one's current program and in allprior programs.
5. Sufficient floor time to give automatic dance response to the calls in one's currentprogram. (The amount of this floor time will vary from individual to individual.)
6. The ability to help dancers on the floor at the current program.
7. The interest to explore more complex ideas found at the next program.
8. The time commitment to learn a new program.

Dancers who wish to learn the Advanced and Challenge Programs should also have:
1. The ability to recognize formations and one's position within a formation.
2. The ability to understand concepts and to apply this to unfamiliar situations.

(In Addition by Dottie Welch) If and when all of these criteria are met, dancers who wish tolearn the next program are encouraged to seek out a caller who can competently teach it to them. They should also remember that maintaining their competency at their current program isexpected and that continuing to support their current program is desirable for the long term goodof the square dance activity.

The current CALLERLAB Program Policy requires a review of all CALLERLAB danceprograms during each odd numbered year. This review is conducted by each applicable danceprogram committee and is known as the "Biennial Program Review." This review is conductedas follows: first the Mainstream Committee completes its review of the Mainstream Program,then the Plus Committee conducts its review of the Plus Program, then the Advanced Committeeconducts its review, and finally the Challenge Committee conducts its review. During thesereviews each program committee will review the applicable dance program to determine if anychanges are required. Changes can include additions or removal of calls from the program.

The Mainstream Committee has completed the review of the Mainstream Program. Thefollowing is the result of that review:

Mainstream Program - One call was added to the Mainstream program: EIGHT CHAINTHRU.
There were NO calls removed from the program.

This change to the Mainstream Program will NOT BE EFFECTIVE until September 2003.

All callers and dancers are reminded that the call EIGHT CHAIN THRU has NOT been part ofthe Mainstream Program since 2001. It is recommended that dancers be provided a walk-thru orreview of the call before it is used at an open Mainstream dance.

Nomination Citation for Ron & Dot Connell

March 30, 2003
AWARDS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Laurence & Alice Harrison

Ron and Dot Connell are excellent representatives of the best attributes of Square & RoundDancers. They are world travellers and as such have been great ambassadors for Canada and forNova Scotia. It is with great pride that we count them as members of the Rag Rounds danceclub, and hence we nominate them as candidates for the Mayflower Award.

Ron and Dot Connell are or have been active members of many Square and Round Clubs in theCentral Region such as: Stardusters, Rebel Roundabouts, Rag Rounds, Dancing Shadows, FunTime Rounds, Fun Squares, and Metro Merry Makers.

They are and have been active with the Metro Square & Round Dance Association (Chair 84-85)and have never hesitated to organize or help with any project of Metro as well as projects of theirclubs.

They were instrumental in the revision of the by-laws of the Square & Round Federation ofNova Scotia and its subsequent revitalization in 1979. They also helped formulate thedevelopment of the Federation's Finance Committee and Trailer Committee, and have beenactive on those committees since their inception.

They were the Registrars for the Canadian National Square & Round Dance Convention, held inHalifax in 1982, keeping track of, and keeping happy, over five thousand dancers.

They served as Nova Scotia's Regional Representives on the National Society Board from 1982until 1988. During that time they made a major contribution to the Society on its ConventionCommittee. They re-wrote and streamlined the Convention guidelines that had been adopted atthe 1980 Ottawa Convention. That revision stands with minor revisions. Faced with theproblem of making a meaningful selection from competing bidding cities for Convention, theydesigned and produced a point system for assessing bids that greatly helped the Board ofDirectors to make an intelligent decision in awarding conventions. That stands today as it waswritten, which is a testament to the careful planning, thinking, and writing skills of the Connells.

For future Conventions they designed a computerized time line program which analysed all thetasks for conventions and put them in the correct order of what should be done when. Thisallowed, for the first time, conventions to have the critical path analytical method available topoint out potential bottlenecks that could lead to failures. This extremely valuable tool wasshared with all future conventions and variations of it are in use today. Ron and Dot didexcellent staff work and were a tremendous asset on the Society's Board of Directors.

They are much loved and their opinions are always respected. They are an outstanding coupleand a credit to Nova Scotia and the square and round dance movement. Since they have alsobeen active with the Boy Scout Movement, I also say that they never fail to "Be Prepared" and"Do Their Best".

                    Sincerely, Alex Ritchie & Bernice Thurber,
                    Leaders for Rag Rounds

Nomination Citation for Harold & Clara Redden

March, 2003

Young Country Dancers of Kentville, Nova Scotia are nominating a most deservingcouple, Harold and Clara Redden, for the Mayflower Award. They exemplify what all SquareDancers in a perfect world could aim to achieve, if we could take a page out of their SquareDance Accomplishment Book.

Harold and Clara graduated in the Haley Dancers Club in the spring of 1982 and soonafter attended the convention in Halifax which rumour has it "they made a few mistakes" but thiscertainly did not discourage their enthusiasm, for they are still dancing up a storm to this day.

In 1983 Harold and Clara attended an October Federation AGMeeting in Cape Breton asthe Valley Representatives. There they took on the position of secretary/treasurer which theykept for several years.

In 1986 Harold and Clara chaired the 50th Anniversary Dance of Square and RoundDancing in Nova Scotia which was held in Truro. Marion Atkinson designed a six foot highanniversary cake and Harold built it exactly to her specifications. This cake travelled to manyclubs across the province, being used for publicity purposes.

From 1985 to 1987 Harold and Clara were Vice Presidents of the Federation and in 1988became the presidents for two years, which involved many meetings, extra time and travel. Later on they filled in the remainder of a year as presidents when someone else stepped down.

In 1989, while being Federation Presidents, they were also the advisors/liaison couplebetween the Federation and the `89 Festival Committee who were planning the Festival to beheld at Acadia University, Wolfville. At the July 18th, 1988 Festival Committee Meeting theyannounced, "We will look after announcing your Festival at Hamilton and Charlottetown. "(Ibelieve this may have been done in person, as I know they have danced in both these places atleast once or twice a year many times since then). They were a great asset to our FestivalCommittee, doing whatever extra needed doing that the committee could not handle. Twiceagain in 1991 and 2001 we witnessed Harold and Clara spear-heading the Valley Festivals andworking hard as committee members. From 1991 to 1994 they were the FederationRepresentatives to the Dance Association of Nova Scotia working on publicity and othercommittees within this Association.

The very successful 1994 National Convention held in Halifax was chaired by none otherthan Harold and Clara Redden! At this time Harold wore his head bald by wearing the famouslight house promotional hat to many dances near and far across Canada, attending conventions,festivals and special dances. If any one in the Square Dance World knows Harold and Clara bynow, "their heads must be in the sand"!

In 1995 Harold built the present Federation float in his barn and yard. He has stored itand the decorations for it, hosted and supervised (along with Clara's help ) the decorating, towedit in parades when not dancing on it and been the Federation Parade Trailer Officer from 2001 upto last year. Before this present float, Harold and Clara were the host/hostess to the decoratingevening just before the Apple Blossom Parade from about 1987 to 1995 when they took overfrom Ken and Marion Atkinson. These were evenings of decorating a huge flat bed trailerfollowed by a cup of coffee and lunch and pleasant conversation with the helping SquareDancers.

Harold and Clara have served two terms as presidents of the Haley club in Kentville, Iam told by some former members (The Club closed in June of 1998). They were also thetreasurers of the club for several years. During "The Haley Years" this club was very active inhaving a summer camp-out, participating in the Apple Blossom Parades, having the AppleBlossom Queen and her Royal Party as guests, launching the Square Dance Apple Blossom Kingand Queen contest between the Valley Clubs and of course having special theme nightsthroughout each year. Harold and Clara were always giving their one hundred percent to allthese events and I have to wonder how many of them were actually their ideas.

Besides earning and wearing badges from "Haley Dancers" they have belonged to the"Annapolis Valley Promenaders" and "Apple Valley" plus clubs. In more recent years they havejoined "Young Country Dancers" and have travelled to the Metro area to learn A1 and A2 withDottie and Gary Welch in the "Sail Sets Club". They have a great passion for dancing andmaking new friendships.

To preserve the history of square dancing you can be sure to see a camera in Harold's orClara's hands at special dances. They have helped with the Nova Scotia Square DanceArchives/Museum and kept scrap books and important papers. If I could have asked them aboutthis write-up I could have obtained more accurate information. They have stored many minutesof special events. Since Clara's other interest is in genealogy, it is natural to wish to preservehistory. They have written and helped to write several articles for "Between Tips " and theformer "Canadian Dancers News ". Ask them and they can tell you or find it. Harold and Claraseem to set a goal for trying something new nearly every year. On February 23, 2002 Haroldhad his "beard of thirty-five years" shaved off at the combined Valley Clubs Heart Dance. Thisgenerous event raised four thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars for Heart and Stroke Researchand health promotion. Wow!!

Harold and Clara are to be commended for constantly keeping up the enthusiasmbetween the many clubs they visit. You often hear them ask, "Are you going to...?" or "Are youcoming to...?" and you can be sure to see them at most anniversary and special dances provincewide as well as many provincial festivals and National Conventions across Canada. I recallthem hosting a party for the group of dancers who went to Japan from Nova Scotia. They alsotravelled to the Troy, New Hampshire and other New England areas with local club members tohave new experiences with some American Callers. They are always willing to participate indemonstrations and help in any way possible to promote Square Dancing. They make sure theyspeak to new people and visitors to make them feel comfortable and welcome as well as gettingaround to all the regular club members every night. It is not an easy task to do, but they make itlook easy. Harold even attends some dances when Clara has other commitments. She is a veryspecial spouse to Harold to allow him to dance with whomever he can find for a partner on theseoccasions. They arrive on time for the first tip and on the floor ready to dance when the callersays "Square them up !" They don't just make it a couple activity.

They certainly set an excellent example for the rest of us to try to follow, even in our ownsmall way, and are most deserving of this special Mayflower Award.

                    Submitted on behalf of Young Country Dancers by Barb Walker.
                    Box 75,
                    Aylesford,   NS   : BOP 1CO
                    902-847-9765

During a summer evening of square dancing in July, held at The Dunns, at Loch Broom, theHighland Squares and a number of guests took note of one of our favourite ladies reaching amilestone birthday. Vi MacIntosh was crowned with a 'gem' filled tiara and robed in her 'royal'coronation blue robe, trimmed with 'ermine'. She was then honoured with a specially composed"Ode to Violet", outlining other milestones in her life. After receiving special 'violets forViolet', she had to endure (which she did with much grace) a chorus of "Happy Birthday" fromthe assembled anything but professional singers. She graciously thanked one and all for theunique shenanigans. Many more happy years to this truly regal lady and her handsome husbandHilton.

Submitted by Lola Patterson, Highland Squares

Pictured are five couples who faithfully and actively dance with their club, The LaHave RiverRamblers of Bridgewater. All have all have celebrated 50 years of happy marriage. Also, theyare active in other associations in their neighbourhood, as well.

They are left to right: Audrie and Doug Hill, (2001); Evelyn and Max Mosher (2003); Mien andMartin Vissers (2003); Irene and Reg Unger (2001); Grant and Jane Walls (2003).
The LaHave River Ramblers congratulates them, and thank them for their continued presence atall club functions.

Submitted by Paul Conrad, LaHave River Ramblers

NOTE:
Reprints of the August 3, 2003 "News Release" of the Canadian Square & Round Dance Society Inc. are included asthe last three pages of this issue of "Between Tips".
This News Release is available here as a PDF file.