Flag City Line Dance Festival debuts this weekend

FINDLAY — There's more to line dancing than moving across the floor of a honky-tonk in boots and a cowboy hat. It can be anything from the Macarena to the Electric Slide. Even the Chicken Dance — a staple at weddings and polka fests —counts, according to Chris Caldwell. Caldwell is the community liaison for the Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center. His job includes helping plan fundraisers like the inaugural Flag City Line Dance Festival set for this weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1050 Interstate Drive. The four-day celebration runs Thursday through Sunday and offers a packed schedule of instruction, social dancing and themed festivities. "Interestingly enough, the Flag City Line Dance Festival is the only major line dance festival from here down into Kentucky, up to Detroit, west to Fort Wayne," Caldwell said. "There is not another weekend-long festival like this until you get into Pennsylvania and New York to the east. So we're the only game in town." The theme is "Flags from Around the World." There will be 10 instructors from across the United States, of varying degrees of line dancing fame, said Caldwell. The headliner is John Robinson. Other instructors include Dustin Betts, Debi Pancoast, Kerry Maus and Rachel Trim. "There will also be some local line dance instructors who are pretty big deals with Jesse Escbach; and Margie Wien," Caldwell said. Wien, he said, teaches at 50 North, and Eschbach conducts classes at the Circle P. Eschbach is also the consultant for the event which will be a celebration of dance, culture and connection, said Caldwell. "When I came on I was just like, what we really need to be prioritizing is a healthy realization for everyone in our community to recognize that multiculturalism is literally for everyone," he said. "We all come from somewhere, and the more that we know, the more we're able to celebrate others and not be afraid of multiculturalism." He said board member Harrison Phillips suggested the idea for a line dance festival. "Typically U.S. citizens tend to think of line dancing as boot scoot," said Caldwell. "And the thing is line dancing is ubiquitous to the human experience. Everywhere you go, every culture on the planet has some kind of line dance to be able to bring people together and either celebrate or perform a religious experience or you name it." Caldwell, who has been around the world, said he has seen these dances in India, Austria, New Zealand and Japan. The instructors have been asked to teach at least one line dance that is not country/western in origin, he said. "So we have 46 different lessons that are going to be taught over the course of the weekend. And of those 46 lessons, 50% of them are non-country Western line dances," said Caldwell. Beginner, intermediate and advanced line dance classes will be offered. The full schedule of classes can be found on the Black Heritage Library's website and Facebook page. "So whether you have your own suede-soled boots or this is your first time, there is a means to engage with all of the education," Caldwell said. Festivities kick off Thursday at 6 p.m. with a dancer check-in and welcome dance. Anyone can attend from 6 p.m. to midnight. Instructional sessions follow on Friday and Saturday, running from 30 minutes to one hour intervals from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. Evening dances will be held Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight. The festival concludes Sunday morning with a farewell dance from 9 a.m. to noon. Pre-purchase ticket sales end today. However, there will also be an opportunity to purchase tickets at the door, said Caldwell. A weekend-long pass called the Flag City Experience is also available and grants attendees free access to everything including classes; 30-minute yoga sessions led by Peggy Dillon with Hot Yoga Findlay; a Flag City culinary experience that will provide a buffet lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday; and a T-shirt. All-inclusive passes to single day or evening dance-only passes are available. People who purchase daylong passes will receive 10% off their purchase for next year's Flag City Line Dance Festival. Those who purchase the Flag City Experience will get 25% off the 2027 event. The festival has also partnered with Beer Barrel Pizza and Grill which is offering a 15% discount for people who are signed up with the festival. Proceeds will go to the Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center to support more community outreach and engagement over the upcoming year. For more information, visit blackheritagecenter.org/events/the-flag-city-line-dance-festival.