Two Allons Danser events this month, starting on Sunday, May 6 with Sammy Naquin and a  potluck supper at the Palombaro Club in Ardmore. Visit the Events page for other C/Z dance opportunities this month.

The festival season is getting underway soon, and Cajun Cottage is planning another outing for the Zydeco Vandals. On Sunday, June 3, we’ll be heading to Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Festival at Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ for a triple play featuring Feufollet, the Dog Hill Stompers, and Curley Taylor. The van will leave from Plymouth Meeting Mall at 9:00 a.m. and return around 9:30 p.m.

We have room for 14 passengers, so if you’re not planning to go to the festival for the full weekend, and would like to join the party, please email how@cajuncottage.com to let me know that you’re interested in getting on board. We will purchase tickets for the entire group, so the price will include the van ride and your ticket to the festival. The actual cost will depend on the number of people who sign up. I’ll send email to everyone interested once we have a firm count. ]]> http://www.cajuncottage.com/may-day-and-beyond/feed/ 0 http://www.cajuncottage.com/spring-update/ http://www.cajuncottage.com/spring-update/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:53:54 +0000 How Carson http://www.cajuncottage.com/?p=1762 It’s been quite a while since I wrote here. Since New Year’s Eve there hasn’t been enough time to do anything about the next Cajun Cottage dance. My “day job” as a website developer seems to consume almost every waking minute lately. I’ve gotten to a few dances, which is good for my mental health and almost the only exercise I get!

I am looking forward to Arn & Gerry’s Danceathon on July 14. 3-11 p.m. in Edison, NJ. Once again I’ll be the volunteer coordinator for that event. If you’re interested in volunteering for one or more hours for discounted admission, please contact me (how@cajuncottage.com) and let me know how many hours you’d like to work. We need help at the gate, in food service and cleanup crew at the end of the evening.

So, after all is said and done, the band will start earlier (9 p.m.) and play later (1 a.m.) than previously planned. The evening schedule: Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. Levee Riders Zydeco will start at 9 p.m. and do two sets until 11:50. We’ll take a break for the countdown to midnight and champagne toast. Breakfast will be served, and the band will be back for a final set until 1 a.m.

We still have tickets available, so if you haven’t made plans for New Year’s Eve yet, just click on the Add to Cart button in the right sidebar, and join us for a great evening of Zydeco dancing, delicious food, friends, and celebrating the start of 2012 .

There are no ticket sales at the door on New Year’s Eve. Please purchase your ticket(s) on this site or by calling 217-780-1993 before 12/30.

For those who have not yet been to Homestead Hall, it is a beautiful old greystone social hall with a wonderful hardwood dance floor and decent acoustics for live music. It’s a great place for a party, and we’re going to have a good one on New Year’s Eve!

You can buy tickets on this site while they last, or call 267-888-7276. I will also have tickets with me next Saturday 12/17 at the Allons Danser Holiday Party at the TK Club.

Our NYE celebration will be at beautiful Homestead Hall, with dancing to Levee Riders Zydeco playing their repertoire of Louisiana favorites. The party will get under way at 8:00 with a basic Zydeco lesson for new dancers. At 9:00, we’ll have an hour of dancing to a mix of Zydeco tunes from the Cajun Cottage collection. Levee Riders Zydeco will hit the stage at 10:00, and play until 1:00 a.m. with two breaks at 10:50 and 11:50. We’ll wrap it up with a Waltz Breakfast from 1:00 to 1:30 a.m.

Admission is by advance tickets only; there will be no ticket sales at the door. Each $35 ticket includes music, dancing, gourmet holiday snacks, champagne toast at midnight, and continental breakfast at 1:00 a.m. Please guarantee your presence at the last Zydeco dance of 2011 by clicking on the link at the right.

Here are a few of the great costumes that were worn by most of the dancers in attendance.

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Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic will open the show, followed by Dennis Stroughmatt & Creole Stomp. Andre Thierry represents the best of West Coast Zydeco, and is a standard bearer for the new generation, while French speaking Creole accordionist and fiddler Dennis Stroughmatt continues the long tradition of Mississippi River valley French Creole music.

At 2:45, Nathan Williams & the Zydeco Cha-Chas hit the stage. Nathan and his band have been playing their unique brand of authentic Zydeco music for over 20 years. Closing the show will be Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble. Curley is a native of southern Louisiana whose modern Zydeco is informed by years of experience playing with his father’s band, Jude Taylor & His Burning Flames, as well as many of Louisiana’s most legendary performers.

We are looking forward to a fun day of dancing to great music!

A brand new fifteen passenger van provided a comfortable ride to the show. Starting from Plymouth Meeting Mall at 3:00 Monday afternoon, a group of seven riders headed south to meet the other five members of the excursion at the Delaware Welcome Center on I-95 near Newark. After picking up the rest of the group, the van continued south and reached its destination almost an hour before showtime, allowing everyone to walk to nearby restaurants to purchase pizza, sandwiches and snacks.

The show got underway at 7:00, when Chubby and his band mates began playing two sets of Zydeco including many of Roy Carrier’s classic songs. The dance floor was crowded with enthusiastic fans from up and down the east coast, as well as some visitors from as far away as Texas. During the band’s break, a large chocolate sheet cake decorated with the words “Thank You” was provided by Chubby for the dancers to enjoy. By the end of the show at 10:00, a sweaty and exhausted but happy group of Philly Zydeco fans regrouped in the parking lot to board the van for the ride home. We dropped off the Delaware contingent a bit after midnight, and arrived back in Plymouth Meeting around 1:30 a.m.

It was the first time that Cajun Cottage arranged a group outing, but it was such a fun day that it will not be the last! Stay tuned for an announcement about our next field trip, coming in October.