Dixie Belles Line Dance Club

Dixie Belles certainly had a busy summer this year, starting with our first event at Arundel Castle on 2nd June.

This was a barn dance for charity and we were asked to do some line dancing in-between the sets. The event was on the lower castle grounds, in a beautiful marquee, decorated with golden lighting. The weather was not very kind to us at first with torrential rainfall, but eventually cleared so we were able to dance, albeit on very wet grass!

The Jon Wigg band were very accommodating and allowed me to plug into their gear, which saved me from having to take all my equipment. We then performed for two sets, and by the time we had finished it was getting rather dark.

The videos show what fun was had with the barn dancing.

On Sat 16th Aug we were asked to perform for The Chestnut Tree House in Arundel, the children's hospice.

This was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. With the grounds especially landscaped for the children, with adapted swings to take their wheelchairs, winding paths, a woodland walk, a tree house, and sensory elements to connect children with nature, allowing them to relax, reflect and play in the fresh air. This was designed by Ann-Marie Powell from the Greenfingers Charity. I believe they cater for over 300 children and young people with life-limiting conditions in the Sussex and Hampshire area.

We were also lucky to have the Jon Wigg Band performing again. It was enormous fun getting everyone involved, especially the helpers and even managing to get the children in their wheelchairs to take part.

Next day Sunday, 17th Aug was the first of the Arundel Festival events.

We were situated in the Jubilee Gardens, by the river. Lovely late afternoon weather, and just perfect for dancing, This time we had a fantastic stage to dance on for the first set anyway. However on the second set we had to make do with the grass as the previous act had a full drum kit!

A few videos below.

Next Saturday, 23rd Aug saw us again Arundel.

This was a very busy afternoon with the Dragon Boat heats taking place, and bringing hundreds of people to the town. As you can imagine things got a little chaotic. Parking was busy, but we managed to get into the second over flow car park. This time we were in the High Street, and with the help of Marcus the sound engineer we were set to go. This year we just concentrated on demos and not not teaching.

We performed two sets and even had one or two people join in.

A few videos below.