These cows are smiling for a reason – Come dance with us!
Save the Date – New Year’s Eve – themes this year: Decorations- “It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn”. Costumes- “Birds of a Feather”. It’s techno after Midnight !! Only $25 for a great night of fun! Buy Now
Join/Renew your OFB Membership for 2020 during our September membership campaign
Why become an OFB member?
- Save $$: Costs only $5.00 for the entire year and you save $1 on admission at each dance, including our Thursday night contra dance, as well as the Sunday English Country Dances. It’s free money after only 5 dances. You could even spend it on an OFB t-shirt.
- Voting: You will be eligible to vote at the annual meeting plus enjoy tasty food and drink and lively conversation at this community event.
- Board: Serve on the OFB Board and shape the future of our dance.
- Be in the know: Have OFB information delivered conveniently to your email doorstep in our newsletter.
- It’s the cool thing to do. Buy Now
All event community calendar: Please check the menu for specific dance events and locations. We list regional dance events as a service to the community. Only those events with an OFB tag are our events and are sponsored by us.
We all want our events to feel safe and welcoming for everyone. Click here for info on cultural norms, guidelines, and expectations for etiquette and behavior, and complaint procedures
Please sign up for our occasional newsletter
Check out our new activities on the Harvest House page.
Would you like to play or call at the Old Farmers Ball? Email Booking
THE SUGAR BEES (Roger Gold, Laura Light, Julia Weatherford) with BARBARA GROH
Instruction period 7:30-8:00, beginners welcome!
A community dance especially aimed at families with school-aged children. Circles, mixers, long-ways, squares, singing-and-clapping games, and other set dances, carefully chosen considering the motor skills and social development of children ages 6-12. (Younger kids may need a little more parental support, but will still have fun).
All dances are taught and called; no experience is necessary and all ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult, but adults do NOT need to be accompanied by a child. It’s great fun to dance with children and watch the wonder unfold.
Also, the Family Dance is open band, so if you play contra dance music, come on out. We encourage youngsters who play an instrument to give it a try as well. Energetic, wholesome, high quality, home-made entertainment.
Roots is the OFB’s monthly dance celebrating the New England roots of contra dancing. What’s different about Roots? Think small, sweet dance hall, traditional acoustic dance music, and a house band and caller that know how to make contra dance magic by keeping it close to the floor! Laura Lengnick and Karen Gaughan start warming things up a little before 7 pm with a few couples dances and then Diane Silver calls contra dances old and new to the fabulous New England tunes that have inspired generations of dancers. This dance is free of charge.
Laura Light (fiddle)
Julia Weatherford (cello)
Paul Moore (keyboard)
Join us for our year-end Festive Dance celebrating another year of very fine English Country Dancing. We will begin the afternoon with waltzing beginning at 3:30. There will be no Beginners’ Session today, but beginners are welcome, as always.
3:30pm-4:00pm, Waltz
4:00pm-6:30pm, Dance
$7/$6 for OFB Members
All are welcome; no partner necessary; wear comfortable clothes and shoes; bring a snack from time to time to share; fragrance-free dance.
Come dance with friends and work on your waltz moves. Or, come play waltz tunes with the open waltz band. We are refining skills as both waltzers and musicians. All levels are welcome. Enjoy learning from each other in an informal setting. Live music as available; recorded music as needed. Doors open at 6:45 for the band to gather. Led by Suzanne Hosch.
Laura Lengnick (fiddle)
Nic Coker (guitar)
Art Shuster (mandolin)
Every 4th Sunday come out to the Harvest House for Asheville’s only traditional dance music jam hosted by contra dance fiddler Laura Lengnick. Share some of your favorite tunes and learn some new ones at this gathering devoted to celebrating the art of playing the traditional dance music of New England, French Canada, Cape Breton, Scotland, Ireland and Appalachia. Beginners are welcome, but this jam is for musicians that can play at dance tempos. Listeners are welcome to join us!
David White (fiddle)
Wes Maluk (banjo)
Decorations – It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn
Costumes – Birds of a Feather
Lots of snacks
David DiGiuseppe (accordion)
Roger Gold (guitar)
Steve Kemble (percussion)
Techno Contra after midnight !!! Jesse Edgerton calling with sound by Ethan Hummel
TBA with TBA
Instruction period 7:30-8:00, beginners welcome!
Steve Trisman (fiddle)
Laurie Fisher (keyboard)
JWALK (Jared Kirkpatrick, Jakob Raitzyk) with BETH MOLARO
Instruction period 7:30-8:00, beginners welcome!
Kelsey Wells (fiddle)
George Paul (keyboard)