The Corvallis Folklore Society hosts a series of contra dances. All dances are open to the public and feature live music. Corvallis contra dances usually occur on the 1st and 3rd Saturday evenings of each month. CFS is the official sponsor of contra dances in Newport on 5th Saturdays, roughly once per quarter. The calendar below lists upcoming CFS dances upcoming CFS dances and other nearby dances of interest:
| Corvallis Folklore Society Dances |
| Eugene Folklore Society Dances |
| Other dances of likely interest |
| Weekend events requiring advance registration |
| English Country Dances |
| CANCELLED Dances |
You can subscribe to CFS dance announcements sent out in mail messages.
A local dancer has set up a web log (blog) for announcements and discussions related to Willamette Valley contra dances.
We suggest that dancers wear "cool, comfortable, casual clothes" and flat, soft-soled shoes. (Tennis or gym shoes are fine.) Please refrain from wearing fragrances, perfumes, and colognes. Some of our dancers have chemical sensitivities.
Quite often, a CFS member will host a potluck before the evening dance. At the end of the night, after the chairs get put away and the cords wound up, several dancers will head out for a late bite or beverage. The most frequesnt destination is McMinnamin's, 420 NW 3rd Street (just north of Harrison).
For more information, contact Frank or Karen at (541) 745-1002 or cfs.contradances @ gmail.com
| Date | Location | Talent | Notes |
| Jan 5 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | The Barnstormers with Holly Berry | |
| Jan 11 Fri | FCC Gatton Hall | Three Fingered Jack with Woody Lane | New friday dance series |
| Jan 12 Sat | Eugene | Wild Hair with Sue Baker | This is Dot's 90th Birthday Party. There will be a potluck at the school prior to the dance. |
| Jan 19 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | Cascade Crossing with William Watson | |
| Jan 25 Fri | FCC Gatton Hall | The Nettles with Holly Berry | CAAIR Benefit dance |
| Jan 26 Sat | Eugene | Full Moon with Ruth Lowengart | |
| Feb 2 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | The Nettles with Barb Kirchner | Special Hambo workshop, 6:30 to 7:30, extra charge. |
| Feb 2 Sat | Mt. Angel Oktoberfest Building | The Flying O'Carolan Brothers with Todd Silverstein | Benefit dance for Holy Family Academy (dinner, dance & auction: $25, w/o dinner: $10) |
| Feb 8 Fri | FCC Gatton Hall | Hands4 with Barb Kirchner | New friday dance series |
| Feb 9 Sat | Eugene | Unleashed! with William Watson | |
| Feb 15-17 | FCC Gatton Hall | The Great Bear Trio and The Kitchen Band with Beth Molaro and Jeremy Korr |
Corvallis Contra Weekend
(advance registration required) |
| Feb 17 Sun | FCC Gatton Hall | The Great Bear Trio and The Kitchen Band with Beth Molaro and Jeremy Korr | 7:00 intro session, dance 7:30 to 10:30 pm |
| Feb 22 Fri | McMinnville Grand Ballroom | "The Muse of McCamley" plays for an English Country Dance Ball | 7-10 pm, Formal/period attire. Info: 971-237-6147 |
| Feb 23 Sat | Eugene | Marni Rachmiel, Dave Goldman, and Dick Weissman with Lynn Ackerson | |
| Mar 1 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | Rad Francine with Carol Piening | |
| Mar 7 Fri | FCC Gatton Hall | Three Fingered Jack with William Watson | New friday dance series |
| Mar 8 Sat | Eugene | Molasses with Jana Rygas | 5:30 pot luck hosted by Jacque, 541-302-2628 |
| Mar 8 Sat | Portland | Portland Megaband with Erik Weberg | Advance tickets available |
| Mar 15 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | Joyride with Sandy Strand | 5:30 pot luck hosted by Dan, 541-501-6184. |
| Mar 22 Sat | Eugene | Full Circle with Mary Devlin | 6:00 pot luck hosted by Jenny, 541-343-6049 |
| Mar 29 Sat | Newport | Calico with Sue Baker | 5:30 pot luck hosted by Catherine, 316 SE Penter Lane |
| April 3 Thu | FCC Gatton Hall | Lift Ticket with Woody Lane |
Special Thursday dance, 7:30-10:30 (no intro session).
Pot luck hosted by Diane, 541-753-0762 |
| April 4-6 | SKY Camp | Lift Ticket and Cammy Kaynor (MA), Laurie Andres (WA), and Frederick Park (NC) with callers Woody Lane and Frederick Park |
Cascade Contras
weekend Advance registration required |
| April 5 Sat | Corvallis | No dance | Dance Thursday instead |
| April 11 Fri | FCC Gatton Hall | CANCELLED | The friday dance series has been cancelled |
| April 12 Sat | Eugene | The Nettles with Gordy Euler | 5:30 pot luck hosted by Stephen & Linda, 541-688-3155 |
| April 19 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | The Nettles with Rich Goss | |
| April 26 Sat | Eugene | Rad Francine with Stacy Rose | 6:00 pot luck hosted by Sue, 541-345-3270 |
| May 2-4 | Camp Westwind | "Campers' Camp" | Advance registration required (large PDF flyer). |
| May 2-4 | Portland | New Portland "Raindance" (urban contra weekend) | Advance registration required |
| May 3 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | The Water Tower String Band with Drew Tronvig | |
| May 9 Fri | FCC Gatton Hall | CANCELLED | The friday dance series has been cancelled |
| May 10 Sat | Eugene | Jigsaw with David Kaynor, The Nettles with Laura Mé Smith, and KGB with Woody Lane | Special 12 hour dance (noon to midnight) to comemorate 30 years of EFS. |
| May 17 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | Betsy Branch, David Kaynor, Sue Songer, Fred Nussbaum with William Watson | |
| May 24 Sat | Eugene | Canceled | Go to NW Folklife instead |
| May 31 Sat | Newport | The Nettles with William Watson | |
| June 7 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | Wild Hair with Erik Weberg | |
| June 13 Fri | FCC Gatton Hall | CANCELLED | The friday dance series has been cancelled |
| June 14 Sat | Eugene | The McKassons with Warren Argo | |
| June 21 Sat | FCC Gatton Hall | Full Moon with Cindy Rakowski |
From downtown Corvallis, head west on Western Avenue. Shortly after the four-way stop at 35th Street, Western Avenue veers left, but you should stay right on what becomes West Hills Road. In less than half a mile the road goes downhill, and you pass the first driveway for the church, then the church itself. Enter on the second driveway, follow it to the parking lot behind the church, and park. From the east end of the parking lot, you can enter Gatton Hall (the fellowship hall) where we dance.
You can find several on-line maps to the church: (Google, Yahoo, Mapquest, MapsOnUs )
You can find several on-line maps to this location: (Google, Yahoo, Mapquest, MapsOnUs )
You can find several on-line maps to this location: (Google, Yahoo, Mapquest, MapsOnUs )
You can find several on-line maps to this location: (Google, Yahoo, Mapquest, MapsOnUs )