Lindypendance Weekend July 4th & SF Bal Swing Fest: December 3-7, 2009!

Make friends

*Win prizes for best theme dress each night or compete for 'Mr. or Miss. Golden Gate Swing'* (you don't have to dress vintage but do dress up for fun & to make it a special weekend; ideas further down page): *Or Ms Golden Gate Pin-up* (details below... Mister's too; get inspired by Kevin with Miss Camp Hollywood) Rules & FREE entry below. *Theme Nights:* Tuesday-Dress: Sportswear (Done those Collegiate Shag sweaters if you dare) head out to Tuesday Night Jump @ Verdi! Wednesday-Dress: Secret Agent; 3 venues at last count on Wednesdays so go out and spy on who is in town early and who's going to the Festival! Thursday-Dress Polka Dots; We have 5 Thursday night venues at last count; Wear polka dots so we can connect the dot's on who's going to the Festival! Friday-Dress: Get Shanghai 'd by the Mobsters or Flappers.. We are in China Town the edge of the Barbary Coast; Norma was born in 1919 so dress the era or dress in Silk dresses.. Saturday-Dress: Party Hat or Pin-up! Whether a top hat or a paper birthday hat and a fancy dress... At least wear a Hat! It's a Birthday Ball; More ideas below... Sunday-Dress: Beatnik theme; The Hilton is 3 blocks from North Beach where the Beat Generation began so write some poetry or dress in black! More ideas below... Monday-Say Aloha to all the out of towners; Wear Hawaiian or Tropical prints!
*Enter the 1st 'Ms.& Mr. Golden Gate Swing' Contest FREE!* Win a pass to next year and a photo shoot with Burnie: Why: We're penny pinching to get Norma Miller back for her 92nd birthday; So, the proceeds will go toward that goal! When: Dress the theme each weekend night! How Much: It's FREE; You will get a picture taken in your outfit; The next night your picture will be posted and folks may vote on your outfit by putting change (or any denomination) in a jar with your picture... Sunday night the winner will be decided by our penny pinching tabulators. Participate in short Q&A about knowledge of Swing era dance on Saturday Night! Be Aware & Dance courteously each night! You won't be judged on your dancing ability but dance will be judged on your politeness throughout the weekend as everyone is a secret judges!! It's not necessarily the best dancer that wins! New dancers are encouraged to go for it! If not competing here are some ideas to dress up or fit casual wear into the fun: Friday-dress: Polynesian to Orient... Say hello with 'Aloha'! Wearables: If vintage inclined Wear your best Polynesian clothing! Limited wardrobe It's easy; just find a Hawaiian shirt! But, hey we're in China Town so make it Asianic themed! The cheongsam is a body-hugging (modified in Shanghai) one-piece Chinese dress for women; The stylish and often tight-fitting cheongsam or qipao (chipao) that is most often associated with today was created in the 1920s in Shanghai and was made fashionable by socialites and upper class women. Saturday-Norma Miller's 91st Birthday Ball Wear a party hat! Norma Miller was born in New York in 1919; Wear the big city styles for this Friday night with 1920's Charleston and other contests! Wearables: If vintage inclined wear your evening 1920's Flapper wear and inspire the guys to go further even with their era into Mobster wear! Limited wardrobe then wear business casual with a twist of anything that makes it a fun party atmosphere! Limited wardrobe then wear your best paper party hat! Sunday-Beatnik theme; The Hilton is in North Beach where it all began so write some poetry and dress in black (win full Dance pass for 2011)!		*Enter the 1st Ms. Golden Gate Pin Up; (Mister too; come on guys apply yourself* Win a pass to next year and a photo shoot with Burnie: When: Saturday dinner time; Bring your own props! FREE to enter! Why: In honor of the Pin-Up era and Norma's picture that we are sure a few soldiers pinned up! How: We thought it would be fun to invite Gals and even guys alike to wear ANY themed (doesn't have to correspond with evening themes) tasteful but teasing outfit in Pin-up styles. It's not just about beauty to bone up on your history (wikapedia can be your friend) and dancing(take a class; we can recommend wear)! there will be a Q&A about swing dance and/or swing era history; And contestant must dance with an apointed judge... Runner up and Ms Congeniality will be awarded during the crowning of 1st place later that night! How Much: It's FREE; You will get a picture taken in your outfit; That night your picture will be posted and folks may vote on your outfit by putting a change (or any denomination) in a jar with your picture... Proceeds will go toward bringing Norma back in 2011 for her 92nd Birthday!
*Past themes at the Festival:* Stars & Stripes Literally Stars or Stripes for the lazy dresser; But, your best soldier outfits for the vintage inclined! Ragtime to Charleston! Wearables 1897 & later… Ragtime (alternately spelled Ragged-time) is an originally American musical genre with main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged", rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans. It was a modification of the march, with additional polyrhythms coming from African music. Ragtime fell out of favor as Jazz claimed the public's imagination after 1917, but there have been numerous revivals since as the music has been re-discovered. First in the early 40s many jazz bands began to include ragtime in their repertoire and put out ragtime recordings. Again in the 50s as a wider variety of ragtime styles of the past were made available, and new rags were composed, published, and recorded. The Sting brought ragtime to a wide audience with its soundtrack of Joplin tunes creating a major revival in the early 70s. Western Wear! Rags to Riches theme! Wearables: Fancy Holiday Ball… refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, or sometimes from obscurity to fame. This is a common archetype in literature & popular culture (example, writings of Horatio Alger, Jr.). These stories give the poor hope that they can rise to fame & wealth. They are most popular in societies such as the US, where confidence in the ability to move between social classes is an important part of the national identity, of which lays the foundation of the "American Dream". Sportswear Wearables: Anything from dressy vintage sports to your favorite sports shirt. Sportswear has been called America's main contribution to the history of fashion design. The term became popular in the 20s to describe relaxed, casual wear typically worn for spectator sports. Since the 30s the term is used to describe both day and evening fashions of varying degrees of formality that demonstrate this relaxed approach whilst remaining appropriate wear for many business or social occasions.
Special thanks to our local swing community for promoting the Festival! Please support them as they have our Festival & Monday Night Club. Thanks... 200 Grand, 920 Special, Swing Central, Tuesday Night Jump, Cat's Corner, Steppin Out, Ashkenaz, FNB, Doghouse, Lindy in the Park, Lindy on Sproul, Balboa Swing, SwingTalk, Lindy List, SF Lindy Hop, Art Deco Society... and many others including those below...