Bandara, It should be called the Dance Capital of the World

In the past, I had come to Bandera in April for the All Singles Dance Rally, but this year I decided to experience Bandera for the winter.  Well, it was everything I expected and more.  Thanks to Terry and Jim, I was introduced to some of the locals (who by the way, are the friendliest people I have ever met).  There is dancing and live music here almost every night.  Below are just a few of the places I go to on a regular basis.

Arky Blues Silver Dollar Saloon.

11th Street Cowboy Bar.  I especially love that this kid is exposed to dancing early.  And also, who says having kids has to curb your activities?  It certainly didn't stop this couple from going out and having a good, without the cost of a babysitter, too.

Quihi Gun Club and Dance Hall was established in May 1890 and is the oldest German Social Clubs in Medina County.  This is not the original building.  Built in the crook where two river meet, the original building was washed away in a flood.  It was enlarged and raised above the known flood level in 1960.  In the flood of 2010, this building had 2 feet of water inside.

Currently, they have dances 2x a month.  

It is very family oriented.  You will see lots of kids and I was especially surprised at how many teens were there.  But it is a wonderful, wood dance floor.

Next to Skyline Ranch RV Park is the Wild Horse Saloon.  Every Saturday from 4-8 they have a live band.

Not as fancy a dance floor as Quihi, but just as much fun.  It's amazing how good a concrete dance floor becomes with enough dance wax or cornmeal.

The other local dance place is Longhorn Saloon.  Popular every Thursday and Sunday evenings with local Gary Wright and his band.

Chicken Coop has music on weekends, but is smaller and can't hold the crowds like some of the other places.  Plus the dance floor is an old wooden floor that rivals Gruene Dance Hall for being the most unlevel.

A weekly schedule is published with the upcoming activities, listing the local bands and where they are playing.  The weather hasn't been as warm as normal (like most everyplace else this year), and yes, we have had a few nights below freezing, but only 1 day was there ice and it was gone by noon.  Hopefully the cold weather is now gone.  The current forecast has the next 10 days in the 60s and 70s.  WooHoo!

The last of the Dance Rally

One day everyone turned into hobo's.

And we even had hobo stew.

And then another day, we all became pirates.  Arghhhh.

That's an awful lot of pirates running around!

Unfortunately, there had been a fire and a local family lost everthing.  The Wild Horse Saloon, next door to the Skyline Ranch RV Park where we were staying, had a fund raiser with a catfish and crawfish dinner.

Not much to look at from the outside, but inside the Wild Horse Saloon is anything but boring.

There was the sheriff, for a sum of money, arresting and putting behind bars pretty girls.  And for more money, someone had to bail them out.  (all for a good cause, you know)

Getting the catfish ready.

And here's some crawfish, ready to eat.

In addition to good food and good times, there was a live band and dancing too.

So there is a summary of my ten days at the dance rally.  Now I have one whole year to get ready for the next one.

To see my blogs on previous dance rallies, just browse through my archives and look in April of each year, 2009-2012.

More SI Dance Rally

Always one of the highlights of the dance rally is Wednesday evening at the 11th Street Bar.

Look there, Max has a seat belt on so he doesn't fall off.  

Our favorite Cajun, Chuck, is helping the band with his washboard sounds.

I discovered the panoramic mode on my android.  Now you can see the entire scene.

It is a 'burn your own' night.  You bring your own meat and buy a plate from the bar which has salad, baked potato and roll. 

Since Ronnie isn't playing here, he and Teri get to enjoy the music and dance.

I guess 'real cowboys' ride their horses into town for the evening.

Some people like lots of horses when they are riding, some like just one.

Every bar has its own bar dog.

Chuck waiting to get his boots polished.

One evening is usually reserved for dressing up.  I really enjoyed wearing this lovely dress, but it was too long to dance in. 

The Ricky Adams Band also provided music during the rally.  Dance lessons during the day and live music at night.  What more could you ask for?

The three tenors?  Maybe not.

The ladies all like to get up and dance with the band.  I think the band calls us 'the irritations'.

One day some of us wandered down to Gruene (pronounced like the color green), TX, for lunch at the old mill.

And then we went next door to Gruene Hall for some music.

Live music at the Longhorn Saloon in Bandera.

Longhorn's bar dog like to dance too.

There's still more.....

SI Dance Rally, Bandera, TX

With some long days of driving I was able to make it for the beginning of the Singles Dance Rally, held in Bandera, TX, each year.  Sponsored by the SI's (the singles chapter of FMCA), it is 10 days of fun and dancing in the beautiful hill country of Texas.  This is my 5th year and it never seems to get boring.

It always starts with something down by the river, the Medina River that is.  This year the theme was 'Beach Party'. 

For the 1/2 mile ride from the campground to the river we had this horse drawn wagon.  

It looks like Diana and Phil are ready to party at the 'beach'.

Carlene just looks like she is ready to 'party'.

There were games...

And of course, food.....

No, we did not eat all the wonderful pulled pork.  We found it was great for burritos later.

Loved this hat, especially so early in the morning.  

Now that is what I call a Texas size hat.  

I wonder if she knows what is on top of her head?

It's so nice to see the smiles of everyone enjoying themselves.

Everyone has a job sometime during the week.  For this day I got to help serve breakfast.

And you never know what you will find hanging out behind someone's RV.

The SOLO's (the Escapees singles chapter) attending.  Even though the SI's sponsor the rally, all singles are invited to attend.

Chuck and Sherry, our Cajun dance instructors.

Betty and Troy, teaching the walzt, two-step and cha-cha.

Ronnie and Teri Furr.  Ronnie plays for us in the evenings.

Tom is having fun with the petticoat girls, Mary and Pepper.

There is more to come.  Stay tuned.