I thought this might be of interest to many of you. This is the update on the happenings of the historic dancing group courtesy of Stephanie K.
Rachel M.
Class of 2005 Reporter
Keep in mind that unless I specify that you must be in period attire,
these events are open to the public and you may attend (as a
"spectator" at the reenactments, or as a particpant at most of the
workshops) in modern clothes.
1) A third and final period dance workshop has been scheduled for
(today) Sat., Feb. 5th, from 6:30-8:30 at the Methodist Church in
Yale. Sorry to have not gotten notice on this one out earlier - I
just found out about it last weekend and have had a busy week. It
takes about 1 1/2 hrs. to get to Yale (E of Stillwater) from OKC, in
case you decide to go last minute.
2) Don't forget that these workshops are to give you more confidence
for the Yale ball held the weekend of the "Battle of Round Mountain"
Civil War reenactment. Feb. 18, a Fri., is school day, where the
students and parents/teachers can interact with the reenactors, and
Sat. & Sun., the 19-20th, have battles both afternoons, with the ball
on Sat. night (indoors) and a period church service on Sun. All three
days you can walk through the period camps to see how the soldiers
lived during the war. I'll send out some contact e-mails before too
long.
3) Our next period dance practice will be on Thurs., Feb. 17,
6:30-8:30 pm, at the Moore library. We had such a fun time with
Martha R. teaching last time and will be practicing some of those
dances again this month (only I am back to teaching now). This
practice is the Thurs. right before the Yale (Battle of Round
Mountain) Ball, so it's a good chance to make sure you are polished up
for that event. But feel free to come, even if you don't have any
intentions of going to the Yale Ball. Our OKC area dance group is
possibly having our own ball in the summer and you will need to be up
to speed the necessary dances, so please make the practices a priority
if you would like to attend our group's ball. Comfortable clothes and
shoes are once again a must for this practice.
4) On the evenings of March 18-19, the Honey Springs battlefield (off
of I-40 at Checotah) will host their annual Candlelight Tours. You
can go and observe period vignettes portraying aspects of life during
the war - usually there is a good mix of military and civilian scenes.
This historic site also has some walking trails that outline the
battle fought there, so you could make a day of it. When I get more
details on this, I will pass them along.
5) Batters Up: An 1889 Baseball Game will take place on Fri., Apr. 22,
at 6:30. The Oklahoma Territorial Musuem in Guthrie hosts this event
every year as part of their '89er Days celebration. I have a blast
every time as these guys play baseball according to the rules of 1889
(e.g. an actual rule was "No killing the umpire"). The Cottonwood
Flats baseball field in Guthrie is home to this game - feel free to
come and observe in comfortable, casual clothes and bring a picnic.
Call 405/282-1889 for more info.
GUYS: Any male (around 18 or older - ask the museum about age minimum)
who wants can be part of this game. You just have to attend one
practice the Fri. before the game, so it's not a huge time commitment
or anything. The museum provides the period uniform for you to wear
for the game and a group picture as a momento for you to keep.
6) Sat., June 4th will be the 1856 Lawn Social at the Murrell Home in
Tahlequah, OK. This (usually 3 hour) social at the only remaining
antebellum plantation home in OK is lovely! There are various period
activities going on throughout the afternoon, including dancing on the
lawn. If you would like to portray a 1st person character for this
event, contact Martha R. of OHS at [email Rachel M. for her email address]. She'll give
you info on your character ahead of time for you to study up on.
Spectators can come and go and participate in the fun without having
to be in period attire (it's a lot cooler that way!).
7) Battle of Tribbey, June 10-12th, in Tribbey, OK. This reenactment
is held about 45 Min. SE of OKC, off of Hwy 102. This is the closest
Civil War event to OKC that I am aware of. One really cool thing
about this event is the wonderful fireworks display after the Sat.
evening dance by the local volunteer fire dept. (for whom this event
is a fundraiser). Details on the reenactment are at:
http://www.wildfiremusicfestival.com/. (I just discovered today that
there are even a couple pictures of me from last year's event on the
site! Lol!)
8) One event in OK that I really look forward to every June is the
OKMozart Festival in Bartlesville, OK. I like to go for a couple days
every year and attend the concerts (there are several styles of music,
not just Mozart!) and other programs/tours, go shopping, eat (a lot of
great stuff!) - it's all a lot of fun! www.okmozart.com If they
don't have their 2005 events listed in detail yet, they should be
forthcoming.
A few items you might be interested in helping with/attending at OKMozart:
-1910-1940 style show at the Frank Phillips Mansion
-Victorian Hat workshop
-Period dance workshop
Contact Martha R. (info in #6's info) if you are interested in
helping with any of those three items. It doesn't usually cost
anything to just help.
Let me know if you have any questions on all these events or if you
know of any events I should include in a future list.
Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Stephanie
