Raleigh City Museum to Host Square Dance

Nov. 18, 2009 - PRLog -- Raleigh, N.C. -- New and inexperienced dancers are welcome for a square dance at the Raleigh City Museum on Saturday, December 5 from 7-10 p.m. No partners are necessary! Refreshments will be available throughout the evening. If the dance goes well, it could become a regular event at the Museum. Tickets are $8 for PineCone or City Museum members and $10 for the general public. Call 919-832-3775 to reserve tickets.

Southern String Band will provide live music for the evening, with band member Ron Raxter calling the dances. The evening will feature simple square and round dances (not Western or contra). (Also note: please NO tap shoes!)

Raxter was one of PineCone's founders, and PineCone began by sponsoring dances in and around Wake County. Now, in PineCone's 25th Anniversary year, the organization is thrilled to be part of another fledgling dance event right in Raleigh!

Southern String Band has performed at a variety of events at the City Museum, including First Night concerts and Museum fundraisers. After many discussions about the possibility of collaborating to offer a traditional dance night, the organizers decided to try offering a dance at the City Museum itself.

Make plans to head downtown for a night of dancing and camaraderie at the Raleigh City Museum and Southern String Band Square Dance!

About Southern String Band

The Southern String Band is a group of nine friends in Raleigh, North Carolina, who play old time string band music for fun in whatever combination shows up for the weekly session, usually on Thursday nights. The group also does an occasional public event, playing background music at informal receptions, picnics, and so forth. They play mostly traditional tunes and songs from the upper south collected from older musicians, old recordings, and their many old time music friends across the state.

Current band members are: Kurt Eichenberger (mandolin, fiddle, tenor banjo); Becky McElroy (banjo); Anne Miller (fiddle); Vicky Montague (fiddle); Charley Nelson (tenor guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin, bass); Bob Peter (guitar); Ron Raxter (bass); Wade Smith (fiddle); and Mike Southern (fiddle).  

Their session is not an open jam, but once in a while they do welcome visitors, so if you're in the area and would like to join them sometime, or if you want more information, you can find the band's contact information at http://southernstringband.home.mindspring.com/music/ Once there, you can learn more about them and see what other performances they have coming up.

About Raleigh City Museum

The Raleigh City Museum opened its first exhibit in 1993, becoming a reality based on the dream of Raleigh historian Beth Crabtree and, after Beth's death, the vision and perseverance of Mary Cates. It was in 1990 that Mary Cates began bringing together a group of advocates for a Raleigh City Museum.

The Raleigh City Museum is the only home for artifacts of the city and its people. It is an educational center that uses exhibits, lectures and programs to help residents and visitors learn about the diverse aspects of the city's people, places and events, as well as its rich heritage.

Learn more about the Raleigh City Museum at www.raleighcitymuseum.org.

About PineCone

PineCone is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving, presenting, and promoting traditional music, dance, and other folk performing arts.

PineCone was formed in 1984 and is considered the largest and most active traditional music organization in the state, with a reputation for presenting the very best in all the varied forms that make up traditional music.  Each year PineCone presents 125-150 events, with approximately 100 that are free to the public. PineCone programs include:  five different concert series presenting the finest national, international, and regional traditional musicians; monthly participatory music sessions in bluegrass, Irish, and shape-note music; the PineCone Bluegrass Show, a weekly radio program on 94.7 WQDR (every Sunday 6-9 p.m.); a monthly newsletter for PineCone members; a staffed office to coordinate PineCone events and to serve as a community resource.

For more information, visit www.pinecone.org.

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PineCone—the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, is a private, nonprofit, charitable membership organization dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting traditional music, dance and other folk performing arts.