SEPT 24: Salt Spring Island – Contra Dance at Bullock Lake Farm with The Merry McKentys

Posted by Moss Dance on August 25, 2016

Join us for a farmtastic evening at Bullock Lake Farm on Salt Spring Island for a farm tour, potluck dinner and Contra Dance till-you-drop with our favourite coastal old-timey band, The Merry McKentys!

Bullock Lake Contra Dance - Event Barn
The new event barn at Bullock Lake Farm is finished now – all ready for us to dance it up!

When: Saturday September 24

4:00PM Farm tour

5:30PM Potluck dinner – Please bring a dish to share and your own dishes to eat with 🙂

7:00PM Contra Dance with the Merry McKentys!

Where: Bullock Lake Farm, 360 Upper Ganges Rd, Salt Spring Island

TICKETS: http://bullocklakecontradance.brownpapertickets.com

* All proceeds go to the musicians

About Bullock Lake Farm

 

Bullock Lake Contra Dance - Farm with Baby

Bullock Lake Farm is a small, first-generation family farm specializing in organic produce, flowers, and pastured meats.

They produce a wide variety of mixed vegetables and specialty flowers, as well as pastured pork, poultry, and lamb. They sell their products at the Salt Spring Saturday Market, through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and at local stores and restaurants.

Bullock Lake Contra Dance - Garlic Braids

Bullock Lake Farm spans 24 acres of rolling pastures, wetland, historic orchard and forest. Established in the late 1800s, the farm is one of the oldest agricultural properties on Salt Spring Island. The farm originally produced grains, vegetables, fruit and livestock and was home to the island’s first creamery.

Bullock Lake Contra Dance - Flowers

We find inspiration in the diversity and productivity of the original Bullock homestead, and strive to continue some of those traditions today. We follow strict organic standards and aim for the most sustainable land use practices possible in the hopes that the farm will continue to feed the community for many generations to come.

About The Merry McKentys

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The Merry McKentys are a seven-piece family band consisting of five brothers, one sister, a dad, three fiddles, a guitar, a mandolin, a banjo, and an accordion, with frequent appearances by other instruments and family members. Perhaps the biggest family band in the west, they make a big sound playing cheerful tunes with little pretension and big grins.

The band began many years ago in a small backwoods cabin in the interior of British Columbia. Since then, the Merry McKentys have played their way up and down the Salish Sea on a large wooden sailboat, toured in Europe and the US, and led contra dances around BC and in small towns in France, Italy, the UK, and many places in-between. The band’s repertoire includes traditional Canadian, Irish, American, and Scandinavian tunes, a few folk covers, and a growing collection of original songs. In 2013 the Merry McKentys recorded an instrumental album, “Out of The Woods”, at Dove Creek Studios in Courtenay, BC.

Check them out at: merrymckentys.com

What is a Contra Dance?

Contra dancing is a fun, energetic form of traditional dancing that has been around for a few centuries at least. It is usually done in lines (and sometimes in circles), and is often likened to square dancing without the squares. There is no fancy footwork required, and a complete newcomer can be dancing along in a matter of minutes with the help of the dance caller, who gives instructions as the dance goes along. You can read more about it and even see a video of one here!

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