The goal of our 'COWBOYS 'N CALICO BALL on the evening of Saturday, March 6th is to make money for Cowtown Opry and to have FUN! 
To help you prepare for the comaraderie of  an old-fashioned cowboy ball, here are some useful tips you might keep in mind. 

You can costume as any western person - for ideas, go to www.rivercrossinginc.com   This is the website for Sharon and Mike Guli, (the folks we are bringing in to do our dance), and they are VERY talented presenters, reenactors, historians and artists.  The Photo Gallery page has LOTS of pix to get you started on great costuming ideas.  http://rivercrossinginc.tripod.com/slideshow.html

 Dance etiquette tips:
* men can wear hats TO the event, but must remove them to dance.

*Since you will be dancing will lots of different people throughout the night, gloves are nice to wear for guys and gals both, IF the outfit allows (...a Native American costume would look kinda weird with dance gloves, but other than that ...)  The kind to get should be light knit fabric -cotton is most comfortable, but leather gauntlets might be too heavy.  For men, get white, short ones.  For ladies, there's more variety, such as white, cream, black neutrals OR accent colors to go with the dress.  They can be short or long, satin, cotton, or even fingerless open weave crochet, depending on the preference and the outfit. 
Sharon Guli, our dance-mistress, will bring a supply of standard mens' and ladies' gloves that can be purchased the night of the dance for a small fee (under $10).

*Ladies, don't layer on too much clothing -you'll get overheated with all the exertion.  For instance, there's a reason that ballgowns are not usually long-sleeved, what with the gloves and the corsets and petticoats, you've got to let off steam somehow.  Short sleeves, sleeveless, or off-the-shoulder, and lower necklines are in order.  Wearing your hair up with curls, flowers, braids or jewelry is all quite right for ladies.  NO HATS!  Artificial hair pieces are also in order.  (There are lots of those at the Sam Moon Centers.)  Guys, you must wear long sleeves, and cotton will be the most comfortable.  Vests are always right.  Jackets are elegant, but you may tend to get overly warm in them.

For dance outfitting and supplies, also try:
http://www.civilwarlady.com (tell Joy Melcher that I sent you!)
or
http://www.buckaroobobbins.com/
or
http://recollections.biz/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=R&Category_Code=AllGowns

Devon Dawson, Talent Coord./Music dir.
817-521-4969   
cowtownopry@sbcglobal.net