2018 has big shoes to fill.
Wowee has it been a brilliant year of dancing, friendships, and growth! With your support and the help of many volunteers, 2017 saw:
- 60 dances hosted this year, even spreading the joy of contra in our city for free through our Friends of Congress Square Park summer series and the Pride parade
- New callers and a new sound technician trained and booked for evenings - and continued support of several emerging musicians and bands as they played our venue
- The artistic lives of 92 musicians and 28 callers supported
- The inaugural PIC'd Up Orchestra Open Band evening, which was a roaring success
- Experimentation with Advanced Contra dances to offer dance diversity and advanced skills
- A strengthened dance community and a tighter network in our broader community - bringing joy and a sense of belonging to many
- More dance managers trained (the folks who ensure each evening goes swell!)
- A new sound system, which has enabled us to both be more sustainable and support other series
- Support to the State Street Church, as they make much needed building repairs
- And more...
The PIC'd Up Orchestra, our open band
As 2018 rings the doorbell, we plan to open the door to be:
- Training even more callers, sound techs, and musicians
- Hosting more Open Band evenings
- Hosting a delightful 9-hour dance called The Portland Triple-Decker!
- Increasing minimum payments for performers, which makes us more sustainable as a series and allows us to contribute to the lives of artists even more
- Adding more volunteers to share the fulfillment of bringing a dance series to life, and pass on important community building skills
- Supporting a leadership conference hosted right here in Portland for dance organizers from across the country, so we can all learn from one another and add zest to many, many series
- Beginning preparations for a dance weekend!
We are grateful, grateful, grateful for YOU and all the ways you've made PICD happen - by dancing, by inviting friends and spreading the word, by volunteering, by being a leader in our community, by donating... YOU are PICD.
May you stay merry,
May you share joy,
May you give and receive charity,
and may you have endless nights of dance and song.
Happy New Year. We wish a bright and beautiful new year to you and yours!