Carcassonne Square Dance

What a night looks like

Doors open at 5:30. People come early, because half the point is the visiting. There is usually something to eat. The band tunes up — fiddle, banjo, guitar, bass — and somebody calls the first set.

You do not need to know how to dance. Nobody here learned it from a class. The caller walks you through it, an experienced neighbor takes your hand, and by the second tune you are in it. Children flatfoot in the corner. Elders who have been coming since the sixties hold the floor down. It runs late.

Coming for the first time

Come as you are — this is a community hall, not a ballroom. Bring cash for the donation jar if you can; it keeps the lights on and pays the musicians. Bring the kids. Bring a dish if you're the kind of person who brings a dish.

The road up the mountain is narrow and winding. Give yourself extra time, and don't count on cell service once you're close.