Square Dancing is the Official State Dance of Oregon

Introduction

The Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs was organized in March of 1956, and now includes about 80 clubs from across the state of Oregon, the northern edge of California, and the southern edge of Washington. The purpose of the Federation is to promote the encouragement and enjoyment of square dancing and its associated activities.

The Federation holds five meetings annually, one each at the Mid-Winter and Summer Festivals, and three others rotating through the 13 area councils. All meetings are open, and dancers are encouraged to attend.

The Federation is financed through membership dues, and revenues from the two annual State Festivals. The Federation uses these funds to cover operational costs and to fund projects that will promote square dancing.

The Federation was instrumental in having the United States Congress designate the square dance as the National Folk Dance, and in having square dancing named as the official dance of the State of Oregon. Oregon hosted more than 22,000 dancers from around the world at the 43rd National Square Dance Convention® in Portland in June, 1994, still the second largest convention ever held at the Oregon Convention Center. We repeated this privilege in June, 2005, when more than 8,000 dancers showed up for the 54th National Square Dance Convention®.

These accomplishments and the hosting of numerous benefit dances has placed the Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs as one of the leaders in the community. The dancers of Oregon should be proud of what their Federation has been able to accomplish.

This web page is compiled and managed by Tim Roberts, Federation Webmaster. If you have any corrections or updates, please send Tim an e-mail at timr@probo.com.