Barn Dance Team

Mission
Believe it or not, our mission is only tangentially related to barn dances.

'''This monthly series was created to strengthen the local music community -- the families, the musicians, the dancers and the varied cultures represented nearby.

Our specific strategy is to get folk and kinfolk of all ages and abilities to dance to the rich variety of traditional music around town. The benefits of this strategy include:
 * broadening the economic and racial demographics of our music community,
 * inspiring young musicians by exposing them to live music,
 * showcasing the talents of area musicians and dance leaders,
 * appreciating (and paying for) their hard work,
 * providing a non-intimidating environment to share music from other cultures,
 * breaking down the silos of the different music and dance communities.

The Dedicated Groups
Here are the groups that are needed to grow and sustain the monthly barn dances:

Event
They are the ones that actually make the event happen. They have roles like barn manager, emcee, sound manager, roustabout and doorkeeper -- very important but also a very low time commitment for the folks that have busy lives.

Sponsor
This group has two goals: provide for the funding of the barn dance series and keeping the suggested donation at the door low -- both are needed to keep the series running and affordable to everyone. We'll need folks that are excited about our goals when approaching other organizations and individuals for sponsorship opportunities and making grant requests.

Promotion
Getting the word out to all the communities is an ever changing task. Social media, email lists, public calendars, radio spots are just a few the channels to getting the word out. And never discount word of mouth to bring in new ideas, new people and new communities.

Booking
Finding and booking bands and dance leaders that simultaneously get people dancing and represent the local flavors of music is an enjoyable balancing act.

Finance
This will probably be a squad of one -- making sure musicians are paid, expenses overseen, and payment and paperwork deadlines met.