Welcome to the Thursday Contra! See the schedule of upcoming bands and callers below.
Location: The Irish Center (a.k.a. Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center),
6815 Emlen St., Philadelphia, PA 19119.
Look for the signs, and use the ballroom entrance, furthest from Carpenter Ave.
Beginner lesson: 7:30pm
Dance: 8:00pm to 10:30pm
Admission: $5-15+ sliding scale for local bands, $8-20+ sliding scale for *touring bands.
Our Thursday night dances strongly encourage up-to-date COVID vaccination. Masks are optional (and are welcome).
Snacks are welcome. Please bring finger foods to share! (No peanuts or peanut butter please, due to allergies in our community.)
(If you test positive for COVID a few days after a dance, please send email to so we can alert others to a potential exposure. Thanks.)
Please read the full details if you plan to attend. We're looking forward to dancing with you!
| Date | Caller | Band | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 6 | Donna Hunt coordinating | Grip It & Rip It: Jay Kreider (Banjo, guitar, mandolin), Kim Kreider (upright bass), Rich Myers (mandolin, guitar), Rich Crossin (fiddle, guitar), Larry Feldman (fiddle, guitar, mandolin) | |
| June 13 | Dave Rupp coordinating | SPUDS: Philly's phabulous open contradance band! | |
| SATURDAY June 15 | Jeremy Steinberg & Alex Burka |
Disbandits: Nathan Bishop (fiddle), Kate Saylor (fiddle), Rich Myers (mandolin, guitar), Adlai Waksman (piano) Center City: Trinity Memorial Church, 2212 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA (near Rittenhouse Square) |
|
| June 20 | Rick Mohr | West Philly Contra Superstars: Alex Kramer (fiddle), Brian Dolphin (mandolin, fiddle, banjo), Gabriel Furtado (guitar), Dan Samuels (percussion) | |
| June 27 | Michael Karcher coordinating | Hijinks: Carrie Rose (flute, piccolo), Miranda Weinberg (fiddle), Kathy Talvitie (piano) | |
| July 4 | Jan Alter & Jeremy Steinberg | BASS: Bill Quern (mando, banjo, fiddle, melodeon), Adlai Waksman (keyboard), Sarah Gowan (guitar), Steve Epstein (clarinet, sax) Celebrate your independence by coming to dance! |
|
| July 11 | Liesl Jandrey coordinating | Jump Fingers: Palmer Loux (fiddle), Bob McCluskie (fiddle), Greg Loux (guitar), Carolee Rand (banjo, tenor guitar, mandolin), Mat Clark (bass) | |
| July 18 | Scott Higgs coordinating | Hot Feat: Mat Clark (fiddle, mandolin), Dave Wiesler (piano, guitar), Paul Morrissette (bass) | |
| SATURDAY July 20 | Callers TBA |
Chloe Rosenthal DJing a techno contra! Center City: Philadelphia Ethical Society auditorium, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA |
|
| July 25 | Penelope Weinberger | Broadside Kinetic: Rachel Hall (piano), Amy Ksir (accordion, winds), Tom Rhoads (guitar), Helene Speer (fiddle), Jim Speer (bass) | |
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Dances continue every Thursday. See more callers and bands in the full calendar! |
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But wait, there's more! PATMAD also sponsors
- The 3rd Saturday Contra Dance in Mt. Airy, on break for the summer, back in September!
-
Allons Danser, Philadelphia's home for Cajun/Zydeco music and dance, continuing on Friday, June 28 with Corey Arceneaux and the Zydeco Hot Peppers at the TK Club in Conshohocken.
(3rd Saturday and Allons Danser may have different COVID precautions from the Thursday night contra dance.)
- SPUDS, Philly's phabulous open contradance band.
All Hands In has been presenting games nights and other community-led events, along with some fun online dances with fantastic live calling. Tune in most Tuesday nights.
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