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Dec 5th & 6th
Join us for an evening of “Electro Contra Meltdown”.
With Doe Taryn calling, this is a pair of special contra events on the evenings of December 5th and 6th in Santa Cruz and Oakland respectively. Electro Contra Meltdown is a medley style contra dance complete with disco lights and live music overlayed to M’Gilvry Allen’s DJ set. Scott Ferreter will be playing guitar and thumpy kick-pedal.
The first hour of the evening will be a traditional contra dance.
This event is great for teens, ‘tweens, and the whole family! An exciting deviation from traditional contra with Family Week familiar faces: Doe Taryn and M’Gilvry Allen.
Santa Cruz Contra
https://www.santacruzcontra.com
Live Oak Grange Hall
1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz CAFri, December 5th, 2025
Introductory lesson: 6:30 – 7 p.m.
Dance: 7 – 10 p.m.Oakland’s Circle Left Queer Contra
https://www.queercontradance.org/circleleft.html
Lake Merritt Dance Center
200 Grand Avenue
Hall 1, upstairsSat, December 6th, 2025
Introductory lesson: 6:30 – 7 p.m.
Dance: 7 – 10 p.m. -
Family Week 2026 will be June 21-27
Do you have a local music or dance studio that has a community board? Are you attending a dance that has a flyer table? Is there a Waldorf or parent-participation preschool in your neighborhood?
We are always looking for ways to reach families that would enjoy joining us in music, dance, arts, and laughter under the redwoods. Please feel free to print out the poster here and help us let people know about our camp.
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Sunday, Nov. 2 2:00–4:00
Free Family Dance 2:00–4:00 Sunday, Nov. 2 at 5951 College Ave, Oakland
Join many of our favorite Family Week staff in coming together to dance and play at the College Ave Presbyterian Church (in the gym).
Caller Doe Taryn will teach easy-to-learn folk dances suitable for all ages. We will dance to live music featuring Anne Goess on fiddle, Craig Johnson on accordion, Talitha Aho on bass and Pete Feltman on guitar/banjo.
This event is open to all, whether they’ve been to camp or not. And it’s FREE. (Donations to BACDS Family Week are always welcome.) Please come, and if you or your children have friends that you think would enjoy this, please invite them. Wear your Family Week name badges if you can find them!
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Saturday, Oct. 18 2:00–4:30
Free Family Dance 2:00–4:30 Saturday, Oct. 18 in Palo Alto – UUCPA at 505 E. Charleston Road
Many members of the Family Week community will again be gathering for an afternoon of dancing, crafting, singing, stilting, and socializing. Come join us as we bring a taste of Family Week to the peninsula.
Hosted at the UUCPA, this family dance will be called by Susan Petrick with music by the Opporchoonists. Susan will teach easy-to-learn dances from American and British Isles folk traditions suitable for all ages.
This event is open to all, whether they’ve been to camp or not. And it’s FREE. (Donations to BACDS Family Week are always welcome.) Please come, and if you or your children have friends that you think would enjoy this, please invite them. Wear your Family Week name badges if you can find them!
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Fun inside and out
Highlights from Family Week 2025
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Sun, Sept 21 and Sat, Oct 18
Save the dates for two upcoming family dances around the Bay Area.
Susan Michaels will be calling a family dance as part of the Berkeley Old time Music Convention. The dance is at Ashkenaz on Sunday, September 21 at 11:00 am. See https://www.berkeleyoldtimemusic.org/kids-and-families for more info. Note that this is not a BACDS Family Week hosted dance, but it should be well worth attending!
On October 18, BACDS Family Week will co-sponsor a third family dance at the Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 2pm. More info coming soon.
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Sunday, Aug 10 2:30–4 pm
Are your kids telling you that they wish Family Week could last all summer? Are you curious about this family-friendly community of dancers, musicians, and stilters that your friends have told you about? Have you come in years past and miss the friends you met there once upon a time?
Family Week 2025 is over, but here’s an opportunity to sample some of the fun that happens at camp.
Join us August 10th before the Hayward Contra to reunite with Family Week friends, former and future! This event is open to all, whether or not you’ve been to camp.
Sunday, Aug. 10
Reunion Party 2:30–4 pm
Hill & Valley Club
1808 B St, HaywardReunion Party is FREE (BACDS Family Week donations welcome). Contra dance, starting at 4pm, is $20/adult, $10/youth, or pay what you can.
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Go print out your forms!
Camp is in less than 2 weeks! Go check out what you need to pack and prep for an amazing week.
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Monthly through June
The North Bay Country Dance society is hosting a series of monthly family dances. For more information, go to https://nbcds.org/family-dances/.
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Welcome Spring!
The BACDS Family Week committee is partnering up with California Revels to host another family dance event in Berkeley to celebrate spring’s arrival.
All ages welcome, no dance experience required.
Learn fun, easy to learn traditional dances with Revels teaching artist Susannah Mackintosh.
Dancing together, we create community through celebration.
WHEN: March 22nd, 3:00 – 4:30PM. Doors open at 2:50 PM
WHERE: Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1606 Bonita Ave, Berkeley
COST: $25, kids join for free. More information and advance ticket purchase can be found at https://noevenable.lpages.co/revels-spring-into-motion/. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
WHAT TO BRING: Water bottle, comfy clothes and shoes to move in. Optional: Potluck food or beverage to share
We’ll have time at the end to socialize.
