The Mid-Island Community Band Society is seeing a resurgence of interest in big band music from young and old, and so a Spring Fling is just the thing.
A dance party at the Bowen Park Activity Centre on Friday, April 26, will feature the Mood Swings Big Band.
“Swing dancing is also alive and well on Vancouver Island,” noted a press release from the society, adding that the big band era was one of the most exciting periods in the growth of the American jazz movement.
“It was a time when ballrooms across the country were packed with dancers swinging to the big band music of the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Radio stations around the world were broadcasting that same excitement,” the release noted. “Here in Nanaimo dancers were swinging the night away at the famous Pygmy Pavilion, the largest dance hall in Western Canada.”
The society sees musicians of all ages showing renewed excitement in the genre, demonstrated by increased interest and participation in the Mood Swings Big Band. Current membership ranges from high school students to well-seasoned amateurs and former professionals.
The Spring Fling dance party goes from 7-11 p.m. at the Bowen auditorium, with the big band slated to play at 8 p.m. There will be a cash bar set up. Tickets to the event cost $25, available through the Port Theatre box office at www.porttheatre.com or 250-754-8550.
READ ALSO: Nanaimo’s first-ever Big Band Festival on its way to the waterfront