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Our annual Spooks Ball was a fun night. People really dressed the part and entered into the “spirit” of it all. Supper was anything but dull with some very creative, dare I say worrying, food on offer. Many Halloween songs and some creepy sound effects during the breaks. Great job by the committee and helpers in setting up the hall – particularly while the learners were underway.

We welcomed Alan and Jane Evans from Qld who were over for Kanella’s Plus Birthday and we enjoyed a bracket of Alan’s calling.

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On the weekend of July 30 – Aug 1st, we were proud to present US caller Jerry Jestin for our celebration of 25 years of the Adelaide Outlaws clubs.

The hall looked fantastic with silver adornments and dancing coloured lights on stage. The committee and helpers did a great job with catering and above all, the atmosphere was electric. Many SA and visiting dancers enjoyed three sessions of Mainstream, Plus and Round dancing. Jerry and Janice Jestin made themselves at home and Jerry provided a great program with his variety of choreography and music.  Jerry has a great personality which comes through in his calling and we enjoyed his cueing as well. Again a nice variety of routines and music.

We hope all who came enjoyed the festival and thanks for helping us celebrate our Silver Jubilee. We sent Jerry and Janice off to Buderim in Queensland for their 25 year celebration of the Sunshine Coast Square Dance centre. The Jestins then jet on to Melbourne then Perth for weekends in those cities.

Thanks Jerry and Janice, thanks dancers and we’re looking forward to our Birthday celebration on September 25th.

At the 51st National Convention, Graham’s 25 years of club calling was recognised by the Australian Callers Federation (ACF) in the form of a “Silver Microphone Award”. A certificate and lapel pin mark 25 years of service to the “trade” and this was presented on the Saturday night of the Convention by the ACF Chairman at the time – Jeff van Sambeek.

In this same year, Callerlab, the international association of square dance callers awarded Graham the “Quarter Century Club” award for those 25 years of service.

Makes one feel a little old don’t it?

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We were thrilled to welcome a lovely couple from Nagoya in Japan – Kiichi and Ryoko Hayashi. They joined us at the Plus and Mainstream clubs and endeared themselves to everyone. We took the opportunity to show them around some of our native fauna on a weekend with a visit to Cleland National Park. We followed that with a dinner at Ned Kelly’s Retreat restaurant. For some reason, Ryoko was quite reluctant to eat something she had only just patted earlier in the day! Steaks were a must though and a welcome change from the fish and rice dishes they are used to. They had a wonderful time and were very charming. When we found out Kiichi also called, Graham put him on stage and he delivered a stirring hoedown. It’s always a great reminder of how universal square dancing is and borders just disappear. We wish them well on their remaining travels around Australia.

Back in January we received a visit from a German couple, Michael and Karin Steinhorst from Berlin. It was indeed good timing as they arrived for our annual “Aussie Night” and got a real taste of an Aussie BBQ, Aussie music and Aussie hospitality. Michael calls for the Berlin Square Ups club and entertained us with his calling at out MS club.

Arriving on the weekend prior to the dance gave us a chance to show them around our state a little with a trip to Victor Harbor.

If you can read German, check out their website at http://www.square-ups-berlin.de. (Use Google and you can translate).

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We were thrilled to receive a return visit from Duke Okada from Osaka in Japan. Duke visited us back in 2006 and returned this year with his wife and two children for a brief holiday in Adelaide. In visiting both our MS and Plus clubs, we were priveleged to have him call. He has a smooth style and is very clear and he quickly endeared himself to our dancers. Their visit coincided with our Adelaide Idol easter Dance and I think they were quite entertained by the outstanding talent of our dancers.

Whilst here, we took the opportunity to expose them to some of the culinary delights that Adelaide has to offer and give them a sample of the Adelaide Festival with a tour of the “Northern Lights” display on Adelaide’s North Terrace.

We say “Arigato” (thankyou) and syonarrah to our Japanese friends and hope we shall cross paths again in the future.

Check out Duke’s club website on our “Square Dance Resources” links page. Why you might even spot some Aussies there!