Summer Barn Dance

| Allison

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Hello, dears!

Just a few weeks ago, we had the privilege of hosting a barn dance in celebration of our friend Sam’s (Samantha’s) birthday! It took a while to prepare for, but we all absolutely LOVED the dance. 😀 It was the first one our family had been to.

Sam wanted Megan and I to take some pictures, and of course we happily obliged. 😉 Today I’m going to show you a few of my favorite photos, from decorations to dancing. Enjoy!

I got to help with the decorating, which was super fun. 🙂 At first we tried hanging streamers from the loft, but it was too damp and humid and they just sort of hung there limply. So we took them down. But while we were hanging them we found this gorgeous moth! Isn’t it striking?

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Don’t these blue gingham tablecloths go perfectly with the barn dance/birthday/picnic atmosphere?

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Our magnolia tree is blooming, so Megan suggested we use some of the flowers for the table. I’m so glad we did, because I had no idea they’d be this beautiful! And they smell amazing.

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Unfortunately they are rather prone to closing up into buds, but they’re still pretty that way too. 🙂

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We also had bouquets of ferns from our woods, chamomile daisies from our pastures, and larger daisies that Sam brought, which they had dyed blue with food coloring! 😀

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I enjoyed making “place cards” for the food, even if I didn’t get around to labeling everything. 😉

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Sam brought these lovely stamped paper fans (because boy was it hot that day!).

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She also brought a bunch of paper medallions and some balloons to hang from the loft. They looked so pretty!

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They set the speakers and such on haybales, which made it seem more like a barn dance. 😀

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Hee hee, I quite like this picture of Sam’s sister Jesse.  😀

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And this one of Sam. 🙂

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Oh, and it was so funny – Sam and I wore almost the EXACT same outfit! Identical shirts and only a tiny bit different skirts. XD She was going to do my hair to match hers too, but we ran out of time, so it kind of looks like an octopus in these pictures. O.o Next time I shall remember to put it back before the dance. XD

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Megan took the picture before and this picture from the loft. Aren’t they so neat?

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Okay, now we’re finally ready for the barn dance part! One of the ladies from church was the “caller,” who patiently instructed all the dozens of people in how to do each dance. We learned the dance slowly first, without music, and then did it once or twice with music before learning a new dance.

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For each dance, we lined (or circled) up in the middle of the shop floor and usually did a short sequence of steps that ended in being whirled off to the next partner, where you repeated the process until the music stopped.

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We learned quite a few dances including the Virginia Reel, the Caroline Promenade, the Spanish Waltz, the Basket Weave, the Snowball Reel, the Patty-Cake Polka, the Posties’ Jig, and one or two more which I don’t remember the names of.

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I think my favorites were the Basket Weave and the Spanish Waltz, although they were all fun.

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I didn’t get pictures of the Posties’ Jig, but HA HA WOW. It was a 10-years-and-up dance for good reason: it had a lot of steps. Our group kind of epically failed at it since we got so mixed up and confused, but it was HILARIOUS. We laughed at ourselves so much. XD

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My brother Logan was my partner for a couple of the dances, which was nice because our heights are a good match. 😀

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One thing I really like about barn dancing is how changeable it is. You don’t stay with one partner for long, which adds to the excitement (and confusion, but XD). It’s also very fast-paced, which makes it feel like a game.

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And I think it’s great that whole families, even younger kids, can participate in most of the dances.

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I’m so glad Sam chose to have a barn dance for her party, and that we got to come. 🙂 Hopefully we can do one again soon!

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So there you have it! At the end of the dance I was EXTREMELY hot and sweaty, and my feet were so sore from going barefoot on concrete for a whole day that I could hardly walk, but it was definitely worth it. XD XD Next time I shall 1) put my hair up and 2) wear shoes. *nods*

Have you ever been to a barn dance? What dance is your favorite (the Virginia Reel, Spanish Waltz, etc.)? Do you have a favorite picture?

Thanks so much for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

80 thoughts on “Summer Barn Dance”

  5. That barn dance is a great idea to celebrate a birthday. Every one of you ladies look so gorgeous in your beautiful outfits. I like the way you decorated. Wishing Samantha a year of happiness and blessings. God Bless.
    HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA
    Marilyn,Joan and Marion

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  8. What fun! I wish I could have come. 😦 LOL! 😛 I love how you and Sam’s outfits were so similar! 😉 I’ve never been to a barn dance but they sure do look like fun! 🙂 I’ve heard of the Virginia Reel, is it especially hard, or is is easy? 🙂 I loved the decorations too, so pretty. ❤

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    1. Heh heh, I wish you could have come too! XD And I know, right? It was so neat! I think the Virginia Reel is one of the easiest dances, although there are one or two tricky parts. And thanks so much!

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  11. OOHH FUN. I’M SO EXCITED TO LEARN WHEN I COME. Also next time, wear Chacos. *nods* Also I STILL love looking at these pictures even though I already saw most of them. 🙂

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  14. Fun post and great photographs! The Butterfly is my favorite dance. The lady has two partners and they promenade to a waltz, then the band switches to a jig or reel and the lady swings the partner to her right then the partner to her left (repeat until the music goes back to a waltz). I also learned how to do a schottische, and I got in a group of 4 people and we were getting good enough to start doing some fancier moves. We called the Spanish Waltz the “Waltz Mixer”. I’m glad to see someone else is enjoying barn dances! Looks like the only thing that could have improved yours was if you had a live band.

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  15. WOW, that looks like SO much fun, Allison! 😀 I wish I could go to a barn dance… *sigh* 😛 All of the decorations are amazing – you guys did a great job on them! And I loved looking at all of the pictures. 🙂 You should have a barn dance for bloggers! XD XD

    -Clara ❤

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    1. AHH IT WAS! I wish you could too. 😉 Well maybe if we meet you someday we can teach you guys! 😀 And thank you! They were super fun, especially with Sam’s decorations to put up too. I’m so glad you liked the pictures! HA HA THAT WOULD BE GREAT! 😛

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  18. Ooh! This sounds so fun! I haven’t tried any of these dances. I’m not that much of a dancer but you looked like you were having fun! I loved your pictures! xx❤️😀

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  24. I’ve never been to a dance at a barn, but it sounded very similar to dance my homeschool group has at Winter Break. We do the same kinds of dances, and also fail epically at some. 😆

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  26. I love dances! My very favorite is Post’s Jig (some people call it Posties Jig). It can get kind of confusing when you first do it though. I’ve never been to a dance inside a barn, but that would be fun. I also like Marie’s Wedding, Spanish Waltz, Virginia Reel, and The Irish Washerwomen. Country dancing is a lot of fun.

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    1. They’re great! Ooh yeah, we did the Posties’ Jig and it was SO confusing. XD But it was fun! And ooh yeah, I love the Spanish Waltz and Virginia Reel too. I haven’t tried the others. It is!

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  32. Wow, a barn dance for a birthday party is so cool! I really like the daisies and ferns you used to decorate. They look so pretty and perfect for a barn dance!
    I’ve never been to a barn dance (or any other dance for that matter), but I bet it would be fun. I don’t know how to dance though, and I hadn’t heard of any of the dances you mentioned, so that could be an issue. 😉 However, it does seem like a great activity for the whole family, and even people that don’t know what they’re doing. 😉

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    1. Aww, thank you so much! That’s great. 😀 I love being homeschooled too. I just graduated this year, actually, and I’m planning to keep up my Etsy shops, and hopefully run an Airbnb on our farm as well. 🙂 Thanks for visiting!

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  36. We had a big barn dance nearly ten years ago on our farm too! It was to celebrate my 40th, mother in law’s 60th and it was held on 4th July and although we are in the UK, we have American relatives so the connection made it even more special!
    Your barn is beautifully clean. Ours is typical English farm barn; concrete floor, corrugated walls, spiders in the roof beams! But we, too, had an amazing time. Thank you for reminding me of ours 💫

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    1. Ahh, really? That sounds SO fun! 😀
      Ha ha, thanks. It took a while to get it that way, but it did turn out nice and tidy! You are so welcome – thank YOU for sharing your memories!

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  37. I LOVE barn dancing! It looks like y’all had soo much fun! What a great way to celebrate a birthday!

    I just discovered your blog and I love it! Keep up the good work!

    Emma Grace

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