Greetings to all dancers!
September 22 marks the official start of Fall when we all should be back at our clubs dancing, welcoming new members and sharing stories of our summer activities. Unfortunately that is not happening in most places in Ontario. Covid-19 is still putting a damper on our activities in spite of the availability of vaccines. Many thanks to all the callers who have kept many dancing on zoom. Once you get the hang of it, it is fun and a big plus is meeting dancers from all over the world.
At our Federation board zoom meeting on September 12, our legal rep, Dave Western, shared his communication with the Ontario’s Minister of Health, seeking guidance on clubs reopening. His report is attached. In that report is information from the Ottawa health unit, which will be of interest too.
Reading this sentence from the Ministry’s reply; “Provisions allows for the temporary removal of a mask “to engage in an athletic or fitness activity” which should address your question related to anyone engaged in actual dancing ”, would lead you to believe that we could dance again. However, local health authorities have their own restrictions, as do the facilities most clubs rent space from, this leaves us in a wait and see mode. We all hope that infection rates fall, people get vaccinated and we can get back to a normal lifestyle again.
The Canadian Square and Round Dance Society will again be picking up the tab for members insurance for the 2021/22 year. However if/when you get new dancers, please make sure you send their names to Peter Piazza, peterpiazza1948@gmail.com Federation treasurer and Society rep.
2021 Trillium Awards
An enjoyable task at our meeting was reviewing the nominations for Trillium award. We are very pleased to announce this year’s recipients of Ontario Federation Trillium Awards. Congratulations to all for their dedication to square and round dancing, not only to their clubs but as ambassadors for our activity in the community.
Trillium Merit Awards.
Barbara Englehart from Meri Squares, Ottawa.
Caroline Charman and Rick McKey from Lift Lock Squares, Peterborough.
Niall O’Reilly and Terri Rothman from Triangle Squares, Toronto.
Gloria Bateman from Swinging Swallows, Pembroke.
Trillium Long Service Awards.
Betty Goodwin from Mississippi Squares, Carleton Place.
Linda and Rob Harrison from Limestone Squares, Kingston.
Anne and Wayne Hare from Lift Lock Squares, Peterborough.
Wayne Whatman from Otonabee Squares, Peterborough.
The Federation has an updated website which we hope you will check out. http://www.squaredance.on.ca. Dan Roy, Federation president and webmaster would appreciate hearing from you if you have any comments. dan.roy1950@gmail.com.
The Federation investigated the possibility of funding to help clubs recover from the shut-down. A federal MP suggested that an avenue to pursue would be through the New Horizons for Seniors Program. More information can be found at Canada.ca.
A project team (in cooperation with the Canadian Society) has been established to seek a renewed agreement with Entandem (representing SOCAN and Re:Sound) to address the reimbursements callers/cuers pay for the use of music while dancing. Discussions are on-going.
When renewing your licence, you may want to consider getting the square dance vanity licence plate. The Federation gets a small financial benefit. There was some discussion regarding changing the logo to a more modern representation of dancers today. Her is what the present License plate looks like, and what a possible replacement graphic might be. Your opinion on this topic would be appreciated.
Convention 2022
Only 10 months to the Canadian National Square Dance Convention to be held in Fredericton next July 20-23. See: http://squaredancenb.ca/convention-2022/. Register now. Hotels are open for reservations. According to current regulations, all attendees will have to show proof of vaccination.
Other Specials Events
There are two larger events held annually in Ontario, Swing in Spring, scheduled for April 29 to May 1, 2022 and Spring Spree in Peterborough scheduled for April 23. Both of these are still on the calendar but are subject to getting permission from both the health units and rental facilities.
We really hope that clubs will be able to open sometime this Fall. In the meantime, smile, think positive and dream of dancing soon.
Submitted by: Howard and Jean Lander
Federation, Public relations and PR and reps from T&D.