Lazy Boots Halloween Festival 2008 (24th - 26th Oct 2008)

Report

Friday kicked off gently in the afternoon with some relaxed social dancing as everyone arrived and met up with old friends again. After dinner we returned to the ballroom for an evening of excellent entertainment from Campbell's Country. Thanks again to Campbell & Tim for a great night.

On Saturday morning the dance instruction started with our resident instructors Terry & Caroline French. They taught the new partner dance from Bob & Kath Hocking - Make Me Happy. Carol Stayte was on next and she taught the fabulous line dance Galway Girls choreographed by Chris Hodgson, some fun here with everyone trying to get the hang of the 31 count pattern and the restart.

For our Saturday lunchtime entertainment we had the brilliant trio Muddy Boots. Dave, Chris and Richard gave us 2 great sets of country music which kept the floor very busy. They joined in the Halloween spirit with some scary masks, though it was noted that it wasn't obvious when they had taken the masks off!! After 2 encores from Muddy Boots, the afternoon dance instruction session saw Terry back with a line dance F'heel Good choreographed to Billy Currington's 'Good Directions'. Carol & George finished off the session before the break for dinner with their new partner dance It's Alright choreographed to 'Airplane Home' by Rio Rocko, though most people seemed to prefer the alternate music by Doug Stone - 'A Jukebox & A Country Song'.

On Saturday night we had a special treat - 2 live bands back to back all night - Kalibre and Spur. As you will see from the photos the guys all were in fabulous fancy dress and the stage was given some additional Halloween decoration by Mark & James from Spur. Mark Jacobs (from Perfect Strangers) was guesting tonight in Kalibre with Bobby Reed and Bob Dixon, though with those costumes and masks it could have been absolutely anyone on stage, we wouldn't have known - until they started playing that is. The music was non-stop with alternate 1 hour sets from each of the bands and including a 5 song session featuring both bands together. Absolutely brilliant. They really wowed the audience providing great music for dancing (or just listening) from start to finish and with multiple calls for encores the finish was quite late!! Thank you guys for one of the best nights yet at St Audries Bay, and thank you for joining in so enthusiastically with the fancy dress. On the topic of fancy dress, we enlisted Spur to take on the unenviable task of judging. The Best Male was one by Alan Bailey for his 'Hanged Man', many of the guests offered to help him provide a more realistic hanging effect!! The Best Female was one by Ann Williams for her Rocky Horror show outfit (what swung it with the young judges was the cleavage!!) and the Best Group was won by Graham & Chrissy Bryant, Richard & Ann Brown and Monty & Joan Montgomery for their wonderful 'White Wedding' outfits (all made by Joan). As always, all of the fancy dress entries were absolutely wonderful, Mark & James had a very difficult job choosing the winners.

On Sunday morning, in the final dance instruction sessions Terry taught another line dance Til The Sun Shines to the Paul Bailey song 'Always Be With You' , then Carol & George taught their partner dance Second Best, choreographed to John Michael Montgomery's 'Mad Cowboy Disease'. There was time for some recaps of Saturday's dances and then it was time to close the festival before heading into the dining room for Sunday lunch.

Big mention now for the Lazy Boots Festival Team:- Ken & Dorothy Harrison, Terry & Caroline French, Margaret White & Katy Holland and a new member of the team Andy Watts (Katy's fiance), you all did a fantastic job preparing the hall and helping with the smooth running of the weekend. And not forgetting the speedy dismantling on Sunday afternoon.

We also extend our thanks and appreciation to the management and staff at St Audries Bay Holiday Club who work so hard behind the scenes to make the events so successful. And finally a big thank you to all who attended the festival for being so prepared to join in and have fun with us - you make it so worthwhile.

Photo Gallery from Halloween 2008