Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Square Dancers Entertain
PRAIRIE GROVE — “Energy, energy, energy.”
Tha t ’s how j udges described the 2016 square dance competition last week at Prairie Grove Clothesline Fair.
The judges are members of Northwest Oklahoma Square Dance Association and for two of the members, it was their first time to judge a square dance competition.
Carl Benett of Tulsa said he was ready to declare a winner after he watched the first group come on stage.
“The energy they have blows me away,” Benett said.
His wife, Sue, also a firsttime judge, said she didn’t know what to expect and was quite surprised by the talent of the groups.
The Benetts had other words to describe the square dancers: enthusiastic, synchronized dancing and facial expressions that showed they were having lots of fun.
For the second consecutive year, Cowboys and Curls won the competition with a total of 559.5 points, based on two nights of competition. The group won $400 and a free pizza from Jim’s Razorback Pizza.
The Original Hoot ‘N Holler came in second place with 551 points, winning $ 300 and a pizza. Third place, with a prize of $200 and a pizza, was taken by the Git-R-Done Gang with 543 points. Arkansas Aces received honorable mention with 540 points, $100 and a free pizza.
Cowboys and Curls has its own history as the group has been together since the teens were 4 years old and two of the members are third generation danc- ers. Clay Fidler and Callie Harper are following in the footsteps of their grandparents and fathers, who square danced on different groups in the Clothesline Fair but also won first place awards.
Jay Harper, dean of students for Farmington High School, said it occurred to him after the competition that it was 30 years ago to the day that his square dance group won first place when he was a junior at Prairie Grove High School. Shawn Fidler, caller for Cowboys and Curls, won first place with his square dance group his senior year.
Fidler said Cowboys and Curls has practiced almost every night since July, most days practicing at 9:30 and 10 at night, after the kids had finished with other school activities and sports.
“They’ve put in a lot of hours of practice,” Fidler said.
In all, 12 groups participated in the evening competition, held Saturday and Monday nights during the Clothesline Fair. A capacity crowd showed its appreciation for all kids. As in years past, the grassy hill above the park amphitheater was filled with people sitting in chairs to watch the competition. Each group had its own cheering section and that in itself could be considered a competition as family members, friends and others yelled, screamed and clapped for their favorite groups.
Carl and Sue Benett have been square dancing for 25 years. The sad part about judging the competition, Carl Benett said, is that most students will not pursue square dancing after they graduate from high school. One goal of the Northwest Oklahoma Square Dance Association is to encourage other people to try it. He noted that Northwest Arkansas does not have a lot of opportunities for people to square dance.
“If they were in Tulsa, we would be asking them to square dance with us,” Benett said.