Feel the beat
Get your pulse racing at the Sweetheart Dance in Lincoln City
The Lincoln City Cultural Center and the Lincoln Pops Big Band invite you to spend Valentine’s Day with Louis, Cole, Glenn and Duke — Louis Prima, Cole Porter, Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington — and all your Big Band favorites at this year’s fun and friendly Sweetheart Dance this Friday, Feb. 14.
If you're “In the Mood” for this kind of “Moonlight Serenade,” you’re invited to attend. Tickets include cookies, sweet treats and a flower for every lady. If “It’s Been A Long, Long Time” since you said “Let’s Dance,” they’ve got you covered. The floor will be open, but a partner is not required. You’re free to just sit back and tap your toes through three sets of great music.
The dance is a fund-raiser for the cultural center’s Piano Fund. There will also be a raffle and other ways to support the nonprofit center.
“We are upgrading our piano this year to a refurbished Yamaha C2, and we'll be focusing our concert fund-raising in that direction,” said Director Niki Price. “All the cultural center's proceeds from this dance will go toward the new baby grand.”
The piano purchase price is $18,000.
“We've already raised $4,000 at the paddle raise in October,” Price said. “So, for the next six months we will be having a ‘Grand Time’ while we chip away at the $14,000 left to raise. We might even be able to have it delivered before it's paid off, so we can enjoy it while we pay it off.”
The evening will include three sets performed by the Lincoln Pops Big Band, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and passing along the heritage of the Big Band era. Members include current and retired professional musicians, band directors, former high school and college players and even a few talented local high school students. With 18 to 21 musicians, the Pops’ sound includes trumpets, trombones, clarinet, piano, drums, guitar and vibraphone, along with a rotating cast of vocalists.
A Lincoln County collective for more than 30 years, the band has evolved into one of the finest big bands in Oregon. Under the artistic direction of Matt White, the Pops play all types of dance music, including swing, Latin and jazz tunes. They’ve got a regular gig on the third Thursday of each month at the Gleneden Beach Community Hall.
This week’s cover models Aracelly Guevara and Dr. Jerry Robbins are long-time dancers who have attended countless Pops performances.
“We keep dancing to keep young,” Guevara said. “It is a form of exercise, but it is such a unique one and I feel that everyone should take the time to learn it. I dance just for me but I like to be with my partner — I feel like time stops when we are dancing together.”
Looking back on the 20 years she lived in New York City, Guevara is surprised that her passion for dancing was not ignited until her move to the Oregon Coast.
“It is a blessing to have this amazing band in this tiny town,” she said.
Both Guevara and Robbins used the word “meditation” to describe dancing and expressed appreciation for the long-term benefits of it and gratitude for their local big-band.
“It keeps my brain young,” Robbins said. “And I agree that the Lincoln Pops are very, very special. It’s just an incredible resource for the community. And it also turns out that the cultural center is a great place to dance.”
The joint will start jumping at 7 pm this Friday, Feb. 14, at 540 NE Hwy. 101. Tickets are $20. For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.