MONROE - Grab your dancing shoes. Swing fever is coming to Monroe.
The Monroe Arts Center is hosting its first Autumn Swing Dance Weekend Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at Turner Hall in Monroe.
The event is a fundraiser for the arts center, said event organizer Norah Sanders. But it's also a way to showcase the Monroe area to the young, professional demographic among whom Swing music is enjoying a resurgence.
Businesses such as Swiss Colony and Monroe Clinic are in need of young professionals for its workforce. But smaller cities such as Monroe "don't have the cultural lifestyle" that this demographic often looks for, she said. The Swing weekend aims to bring these younger people to Monroe and hopefully keep them here.
The weekend includes dances both Friday and Saturday nights featuring two well-known Swing bands from New York City: the Cangelosi Cards and the Gordon Webster Trio. Band members, who themselves are in their mid 20s, play retro Big Band and jazz music popular with the 25-35 demographic, Sanders said.
A special free preview of the weekend will be offered with a performance by the Cangelosi Cards from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Monroe Arts Center. They give an impromptu performance again following the children's Halloween parade Friday afternoon on the Courthouse Square.
The Friday night dance will feature the Cangelosi Cards as well as the Gordon Webster Trio. Dancing will continue well into the morning, with a special late-night session from 1 to 4 a.m. Saturday.
Saturday night's event is more formal, with black tie optional. A special Autumn Swing dinner menu also is available.
Both dances will be at Turner Hall, which Sanders said is a "perfect" venue for Swing dancing.
The weekend also offers Swing visitors and locals alike a chance to explore the county. A tour will hit area galleries and studios and Baumgartner's Cheese Store and Tavern will feature a polka band beginning at 4 p.m. A Sunday brunch at Ludlow Mansion will wrap up the weekend.
Plans for the weekend began about a year ago. The idea grew from Sanders' son, Jake, a professional musician in New York who's a member of the Cangelosi Cards. Sanders said Jake comes to Monroe every year with a few fellow band members to perform at a United Way benefit and their shows have been very popular with local residents. For Autumn Swing, he's bringing eight pieces.
Sanders said MAC is hoping the weekend will become an annual event. The event is being marketed regionally to Swing dance fans to get them to come and see what Monroe has to offer.
But area residents also are encouraged to put on their dancing shoes and join the fun. A special event such as Saturday's black-tie dance also helps build the city's own "social infrastructure," Sanders said.
It also calls attention to how fortunate Monroe is to have its own arts center, she said.
The community has been very supportive of the venture. Local businesses and individuals "have been very generous" in supporting Autumn Swing.
"There's been a great response," she said.
The Monroe Arts Center is hosting its first Autumn Swing Dance Weekend Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at Turner Hall in Monroe.
The event is a fundraiser for the arts center, said event organizer Norah Sanders. But it's also a way to showcase the Monroe area to the young, professional demographic among whom Swing music is enjoying a resurgence.
Businesses such as Swiss Colony and Monroe Clinic are in need of young professionals for its workforce. But smaller cities such as Monroe "don't have the cultural lifestyle" that this demographic often looks for, she said. The Swing weekend aims to bring these younger people to Monroe and hopefully keep them here.
The weekend includes dances both Friday and Saturday nights featuring two well-known Swing bands from New York City: the Cangelosi Cards and the Gordon Webster Trio. Band members, who themselves are in their mid 20s, play retro Big Band and jazz music popular with the 25-35 demographic, Sanders said.
A special free preview of the weekend will be offered with a performance by the Cangelosi Cards from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Monroe Arts Center. They give an impromptu performance again following the children's Halloween parade Friday afternoon on the Courthouse Square.
The Friday night dance will feature the Cangelosi Cards as well as the Gordon Webster Trio. Dancing will continue well into the morning, with a special late-night session from 1 to 4 a.m. Saturday.
Saturday night's event is more formal, with black tie optional. A special Autumn Swing dinner menu also is available.
Both dances will be at Turner Hall, which Sanders said is a "perfect" venue for Swing dancing.
The weekend also offers Swing visitors and locals alike a chance to explore the county. A tour will hit area galleries and studios and Baumgartner's Cheese Store and Tavern will feature a polka band beginning at 4 p.m. A Sunday brunch at Ludlow Mansion will wrap up the weekend.
Plans for the weekend began about a year ago. The idea grew from Sanders' son, Jake, a professional musician in New York who's a member of the Cangelosi Cards. Sanders said Jake comes to Monroe every year with a few fellow band members to perform at a United Way benefit and their shows have been very popular with local residents. For Autumn Swing, he's bringing eight pieces.
Sanders said MAC is hoping the weekend will become an annual event. The event is being marketed regionally to Swing dance fans to get them to come and see what Monroe has to offer.
But area residents also are encouraged to put on their dancing shoes and join the fun. A special event such as Saturday's black-tie dance also helps build the city's own "social infrastructure," Sanders said.
It also calls attention to how fortunate Monroe is to have its own arts center, she said.
The community has been very supportive of the venture. Local businesses and individuals "have been very generous" in supporting Autumn Swing.
"There's been a great response," she said.