How do you do admissions?
- Jan 1 Update
- The weekend has filled. All dancers who applied and paid were admitted. We do not expect to re-open registration. We are not maintaining a waiting list. We simply accepted a few more dancers than our target count, and expect a few dancers to drop out. This allows all dancers to make travel and lodging plans, and reduces the workload on the registration team.
- Role balancing
- We no longer do “role balancing”.
- In “priority order”
- The majority of dancers who have signed up and paid are added to the roster in priority order.
- What’s “priority order”?
- Your priority order is determined by when you signed up. If your payment is 10 or more days late, your priority order is based on the timestamp of an online transaction or the postmark when you send a check.
- Notification
- You are notified by email when you are admitted or put onto the waiting list. We try to get that done by three weeks after signups open. Failing that, we try really hard to get it done by Christmas… or if the signup period goes on longer, soon after we receive your payment.
- Early admission
- We may admit you “early”, if you ask. The most common reason is because you need to know in order to make travel plans. If you think you have a good reason, please ask.
- Will this change?
- Maybe. We will try to keep this document current. If it looks wrong, please contact the registrar.
- Lottery
- If we receive enough registrations by December tenth to completely fill the weekend, we will hold a lottery, randomly selecting among the registration applications received.
- Waiting list
- Dancers who signed up and paid but were not admitted in the first pass are added to the waiting list in random order. Anyone who registers later will be added to the bottom of the waiting list. If we have openings, we will fill them from the top of the waiting list.
Are my chances of getting in better if…
- … I sign up as early as possible?
- Yes. Signup starts on the day the website mentions, and continues until we have signups for about 110% of our target number of dancers. Some dancers might end up on a waiting list.
- … I’m part of a dance couple?
- No. We pay no attention, aside from the count of registrants. We do admit together people who register together.
- … I offer a donation?
- No, though we are a 501(c)(3) organization and welcome donations.
- … I offer housing for out of town dancers?
- No, though we do very much welcome that!
- … I tell you my preferred dance role is “lead”?
- No. In many earlier dances, “lead” dancers were able to sign up later and still get in. More recently, that has not been the case.
- … What about chocolate?
- No, though it is good to bring some chocolate or other individually packaged food to share throughout the weekend.
Covid
We’re going to be strict about testing, but in light of lower COVID levels, we will now recommend masks and NOT require them. The point is to have fun, avoid problems for others and dance safely all weekend long. We will monitor community and CDC COVID reports. If we revise these policies, we will communicate those changes to performers and registrants.
- Pre-dance masking
- We want you to come dance with us, so please wear a mask whenever you’re out and about during the week+ prior to the dance.
- Test before arrival
- You’ll need to show us a very recent rapid test as you arrive for the Friday dance. “Recent” means “today, a few hours ago or less.” You may wish to test before you start your travel. If you prefer, initial your stick then take a time-stamped photo of the stick to show us.
- Test again on Saturday
- We also want everyone to demonstrate a negative test result Saturday afternoon.
- Test kits
- We expect you to provide your own test kits. Please bring an extra test or two, for your own use if you should feel ill during the weekend. They are readily available, often at low or no cost through your health insurance or here: COVID.gov. The weekend organizers can provide test kits if you order them when registering.
- Self reporting
- If you have symptoms or test positive in the week prior to the dance, do not come! While at the dance, if you begin to have symptoms or test positive, please self quarantine immediately!
Please send email to cfs.dance.weekend@gmail.com as soon as you test positive or are feeling sick – to tell us why you won’t be dancing.
- Masks
- We recommend that you correctly wear an N94, N95 or KN95 mask whenever you are inside, whether dancing or taking a break, but will NOT require wearing one. Neither cloth masks nor surgical masks provide much protection. We suggest that you wear your mask all the time, unless you’re drinking water.
We specifically allow you to use Enro Mask or Vogmask which tout heightened filtration close to or equal to N95s. Those are specific brands. They aren’t inexpensive. We strongly recommend you use masks that meet the specs mentioned above. -
What people ask
The bottom line: Most of the things you need to do are possible, but there are some sharp edges in here too. If you don’t know how to do something, please ask rather than just poking at things to see what happens.
- Will someone arrange housing?
- The Corvallis contra community is not large enough to host all of the visiting dancers. You will need to make your own housing arrangements.
- I don’t get along with on-line forms. Can I register using a paper form?
- If you really have to, you can print the pages for the on-line form, fill them in, and send them in. We’d really prefer that you just click “submit” instead.
- Where is the schedule?
- You can find the FINAL 2024 Weekend schedule on the website (PDF). The 2025 schedule will be similar.
- Role terms?
- All the sessions will be taught and called with lark and robin terminology.
- May I bring my pet?
- Not to the dance venues, please. Not all dancers will enjoy dealing with pets, so please leave them at home.
- Will there be (a specific) session/workshop?
- “Maybe”. There will be dance sessions that emphasize some aspect(s) of contra dancing. There will be workshops with musicians, and usually a callers brown bag lunch. We always work with the callers and musicians to have sessions that they like and we think people will enjoy.
- Are the potlucks vegan / gluten free / happening this year…?
- We have not decided about potluck lunches for 2025. You will need to find your own breakfasts and dinners, regardless.
- Ask any question, fix something not mentioned above, suggest an addition to this list or anything else?
- Please contact the registrar: cfs.dance.registrar@gmail.com
NOTE: This email is not regularly monitored until registration opens.
Does the weekend offer any behavior guidelines?
Yes, The weekend has a new Dance Safety Policy.
When signups have closed.
We try to close signups after we have a “sufficient” number of dancers on the waiting list to fill blanks when dancers have to drop out: You are not guaranteed a place at the dance just because you were able to sign up. We do try to guess what “sufficient” will be so as not to disappoint very many dancers.
| Year | Date closed† | Days open† |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | January 1st | 39 |
| 2024 | February 12th | (until camp) |
| 2023 | February 14th | (until camp) |
| 2022 | Cancelled | — |
| 2021 | Cancelled | — |
| 2020 | November 20th | 5 |
| 2019 | November 20th | 5 |
| 2018 | December 2nd | 17 |
| 2017 | December 20th | 29 |
| 2016 | December 18th | 27 |
| 2015 | December 8th | 23 |
| 2014 | December 22nd | 31 |
| 2013 | December 6th | 36 * |
| 2012 | December 26th | 50 * |
| Earlier | (December / January) | 50 or more |
| † Approximate for some dances * Signups opened 1 November before 2014 |
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