Ah, so much to say on this subject.
The short version: My dad once owned this camp, Buffalo Gap Retreat. He was not the most capable person to run such a business, and it wasn’t much of a business back then. Nor was social media and more niche marketing available.The place has since come into the hands and stewardship of a team of people infinitely more able to make the place a place. And a business.
But the first time I ever saw the camp, I’d gone for a day visit with my mom and a sibling or two. (They both lived elsewhere … far away … California. I think it was my sister who was visiting at the time.)
The annual Buffalo by the Bayou Zydeco and Cajun weekend festival was in full force. (And it was a larger, younger and stronger community back then.)
I’d only ever seen Zydeco dancing once. It was at a Baltimore Artscape concert. The image/experience PIERCED my memory. I remember witnessing how much fun the dancers were having, and I wanted to “have what they were having.”
So, on this trip to see this camp my dad was now doing his best to do something with, and after touring the grounds, the sun was setting and the evening dance was starting up.
The dance floor was packed! People were doing this dance that filled my heart with joy to watch. I was mesmerized.
Someone asked me to dance. I was a first-timer. Untrained in the moves. Not knowing what to do, when, on what beat, how. He kindly did his best to lead me. There was nothing smooth or fluid about my movements, but it still tickled a part of me that got me curious.
Some years later, I did eventually make my way to the local Zydeco community. I did learn to dance. (Thank you, Ben Pagac and others!) And I did spend a handful of years traipsing around the DMV area, going to Zydeco and Cajun concerts and dances, and up to Rhythm and Roots festival in Rhode Island: my leather-soled cowboy boots on my feet.
I’ve fallen away from this dance activity and community as a focus in my social life, and that’s ok. Things change.
But/and I do encourage folks curious to check it out. Maybe not at this weekend-long festival. Or maybe so.
In any case — and sharing what a long-time Zydeco dancer shared with me — it’s not the best music to listen to. (Kinda repetitive, kinda boring.) But, oh, how fun it is for a night of dancing.
And a Cajun waltz? OMG. One of my favorite — if not my most favorite — couples dances.
