Tova, Author at Capital City Grange

The Dancers’ News – Spring 2014 – New Bathrooms Planned; Many Dancers Rejoice

August 7, 2014 by Tova

Grange users are excited about the construction plans for a new bathroom downstairs. The Friends of the Grange are writing a grant and developing plans to renovate the downstairs bathrooms, including sinks, water fountain, accessible toilet and changing rooms.

“I think everyone would agree: it’s time!!” writes one Grange member.

The Vermont Arts Council will be announcing the winners of the Cultural Facilities grants in mid-August. This will be a matching funds grant; so there will still be much fundraising to do.

Next Contra Dance: August 16 Featuring Adina Gordon and the Irregulars

August 6, 2014 by Tova

Contra dancing brings joy and laughter and friends into your life. It is fun beyond words. Contra dancing is done to live music – guitar and fiddle and other instruments, playing jigs and reels. A caller teaches each dance, and tells you what to do. You just need to know how to walk! No need to bring a partner–men and women ask each other to dance.

Contra dances are 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturdays at 8 PM at the Capital City Grange on Northfield Road (Hwy. 12) about 1/2 mile south of Montpelier.

Next Dance: August 16, 2014
ADINA GORDON
The Irregulars
Instruction for newcomers at 7:30! We’ll teach some of the basic “figures” that will be called when the dance begins at 8:00. No partner needed, just bring a willingness to smile and have a good time!

Admission: $9, $5 for dancers 15 and under
Newcomers always welcome!

All dances taught
Dances are done in lines of couples. All ages -from 5 to 105. Each couple follows the calls, dancing with another couple. After you and your partner have done the dance figures with one couple you do them with the next couple in line. By the end of the dance you have danced with everyone in your set. There are about 9 or 10 dances in an evening. The convention is to ask a different partner for each dance and to ask people you don’t know to dance. You get to hear lively music, enjoy some exercise, meet your neighbors, and build our community. What more could you want!

Please help us preserve our dance floor! Bring a pair of clean, soft-soled shoes, and change into them downstairs before joining the dance on the main floor.
Presented by the Contradance Umbrella

For more information about the dance, call 802-744-2851 (Todd).
For information about booking bands and callers, contact Cindy at cwarrentaska@pshift.com.

Where will the money come from?

July 23, 2014 by Tova

As we consider the costs for our proposed projects (furnace, sign, and the bathroom/fire exit projects, the obvious question is how we pay for these? Our finances will affect what our choices can be, and the impact of those choices on our long-term survival.

First, there are no magic answers, or donors with unlimited funds asking us how much they can give us. We’ll be relying on a combination of sources for funding, including the savings the Grange still has and donations from the Grange community. We can be thankful that the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall (FCCGH) exist, and that the expertise in fundraising they have is on our side. A group of interested Grange members and others came together to form this group in 2011, to help plan and finance the dance-floor replacement we accomplished in 2012. Here are the various sources of funding we are pursuing:

Grants: The Friends have already applied for another grant from the VT Cultural Facilities program, which helped us with a grant for $20,000 for the new ADA entrance and accessible bathroom on the main floor in 2008. They are also looking at other grant possibilities, and would like to hear from others who know about grants, employer matching-contribution plans, and other opportunities
Challenge benefit concluding Sept. 6th: The Friends will also be asking for increased donations from the Grange and dance communities in the annual Challenge Fundraiser. This is the yearly appeal first to people who can pledge substantial donations, and then to the dance community that loves the Hall, to match that amount. The goal this year will be to raise $4,000 in all, with $2,000 to help the Grange with its operating expenses, and the remainder to help the FCCGH to finance projects. Donations will be accepted starting with the second dance in August, on the 16th, and the fundraiser will conclude at the Sept. 6th dance (with Nils Fredland and the Free Raisins), featuring a dessert potluck and many opportunities to help us reach our goal. Contact Patty Giavara: pattycope@comcast.net if you can pitch in, in any way!
State Grange financing help: The Vermont State Grange loaned us money for our big project in 2008, building the ADA entrance and the upstairs, accessible bathroom. We’ve begun conversations with them about the possibility of another loan to help us with some of these projects. This will not be a grant, but could spread out the cost over time, to let us get the benefits of increased income and reduced costs that we are aiming for.
Loans from Grange members and friends: We will be asking for low-interest loans to help us fund the construction of our bathrooms and fire exits, even if we get the grant we have applied for, since we don’t get the grant money until the project is done! We could use loans as a way to pay for the furnace replacement as well, since we hope to be saving money by investing in efficient, appropriately sized furnace(s). Could you help us?
Volunteer labor: a few people have asked me if they can help with the renovation projects, and we have included donated labor as part of our “matching” for the grant applications, in fact. We expect to ask for help demolishing the old bathrooms and the back stairs, to make way for the new construction. I’d like to start signing up volunteers! Under the “sign” article, you’ll also see a request for help digging a trench for the wire for our sign, and there will be more opportunities for help on that project as well. We know we have hard-working and talented community members, and will need to tap their efforts to get these projects done at a cost we can afford.
Donations from Grange members and friends: We’ll certainly be looking for outright gifts, specifically donated to support the furnace or the renovations. Would you want a plaque on one of our new toilets, to show our appreciation? Maybe you’d prefer to have a plaque above one of our new sinks, which actually mix the hot and cold water? Or on one of the curtained “changing rooms” we plan to build to make places for people to change without tying up bathroom space. Maybe you want to just make an anonymous donation…we won’t turn you away! Let us know what works for you!

Signs of Change/Change of Signs

July 23, 2014 by Tova

As you know, our sign got knocked down in mid-May, by a person or persons (or truck) unknown. I’ve sent around sketches of a design since then, and have talked with a few interested people. I’ve gotten some great offers of help, including volunteers to build and paint the sign, and a local timber-framing company that is willing to donate some framing members.

At this point, we’re waiting for some specifics from our timber-framing connection, and from our electrician. One thing we do know is that we need to run a new electric cable from our building to the new sign location. Not only is it a new place, the old cable was not up to current standards for buried cable. We’re also thinking of putting in a conduit to allow later running of a data cable, in case we want to have a digital sign of some kind in the future.
I’d like to find a couple of volunteers to help dig a trench for the new cable–give me a call or an email if you want to spend some time with me digging in the dirt!