After keeping my nose to the homework grindstone all day, I looked up at the clock and realized I’d have enough time to catch a bus to the Greek Festival being held at St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church. I had heard about it through the head accompanist at CU, who heads a Greek band called Sherefe. Cool crisp air and a setting sun made it seem like a night for adventure.
(Above: The Kleftes Greek Dance Group)
After chugging much further out of Boulder than I had expected to on my public bus, I hopped off to check out the scene. Perhaps I need not even say this, but I will none the less; the Greek sure know how to party. Everywhere you looked, there were smiling people chatting over a drink (of which there were many) or dancing with one another. Every time you used your sniffer, you’d get a delicious wiff of calamari or gyro. It was a sit to behold, a community gathering that popped up next to a church in the middle of nowhere with little need for more than a couple white tents, some food and drink, and a band.
I was fortunate to run into one of the ladies in my cohort in school, Kristin Demaree, who took me under her wing and introduced me to several people in the Boulder folk dance community. We had a great time joining in the social dances done to live Greek music, trying Greek wine and socializing. I have a feeling that I have found my folk dance outlet in Boulder, in the event I find myself needing to get in a contra dance or two amidst my academic dance studies. The Boulder folk dance community seems to have deep ties and great organization. Check out one of their resource websites;
They sure make it easy for you to know where to go! That is one of my favorite things about folk and social dancing; the inclusiveness. My experience at the Greek Festival buoyed the importance I see in dance being for everyone.
What a great random night in my adopted town 🙂
Erinn Liebhard: Dance Artist 