19th Annual Tumbling Leaves (aka Tumbling Snow) Festival
By Pauline St. Pierre
Autumn was at its peak the weekend of October 16-18, 2009, with wonderful fall colors. The word “Tumbling”, however, seemed to apply to snow rather than leaves. Not only were tops of Vermont Mountains covered in snow, the drive home from Vermont to the Mass Pike was covered in snowflakes.
Bennington College in Bennington, VT, provided five large rooms to facilitate our gusto for square dancing at the Mainstream, Plus, A1, A2, and C1 levels, as well as round dancing at various levels. The schedule of events included Friday evening dinner, followed by dancing. Saturday morning began with breakfast, followed by various dance workshops, lunch, afternoon dancing, dinner, and evening dancing. Sunday morning also began with a hearty breakfast, then dancing, and finally a wind-up dance with all of the AMAZING staff. Don't worry; all dancers who participated in most of these events were AMAZING, too. Did I mention that the dancing and hotel package included meals? Meals at the college's dining hall were awesome, providing scrumptious all-you-can-eat cafeteria-style choices for all dietary needs.
Dancers came from several states, including Nova Scotia (I didn't say they had to belong to the US). I danced with people from each of the New England states and some nearby territories, i.e. New York and New Jersey, Pennsylvania, etc... Callers and cuers from multifarious states were Red Bates, Bill Harrison, Tim Marriner, John Marshall, Don Moger, Ken Ritucci, Ralph & Joan Collipi, and Steve & Irene Bradt.
This is a popular annual event. Package options are available for just about any situation. Whether you prefer the simplicity of dancing only, or the inclusion of hotels, RV space or camping, with or without meals, accommodations are readily made through
reservations. 