“I just love dancing.”
You wouldn’t necessarily expect those words from Agassiz resident Henrie de Boer, who sat quietly in her chair during her interview with the Agassiz Harrison Observer. But get her outside, and ask her to show off a few moves, and suddenly de Boer is electric motion.
That, combined with her love of community and bringing people together, has sparked her new community event: the first “Bop ‘til you Drop” dance at Memorial Hall on Saturday, Feb. 23.
The idea for a community dance started around Christmas, de Boer said, when she got to participate in two dances in Chilliwack.
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“After that I thought, where do we get to dance? There are no community dances” in Agassiz and Harrison, she said. “I live on a farm, and I thought wouldn’t it be great to have a barn dance — that doesn’t work because the barn is filled with hay.
“So then I thought, I’m just going to rent the Harrison Memorial Hall, I’m going to book a band and I’m going to throw a dance,” she continued. “As opposed to waiting for somebody else.”
The evening will open at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and will feature tunes from the “classic rock and roll” era, de Boer said. Chilliwack cover band Cold Chain, will be playing songs from musicians like Credence Clearwater Revival, Bob Seger and possibly even Chuck Berry.
“I’d love to start it with that Bob Seger song Old time rock ‘n’ roll,” she added. “I swear that gets everybody up on the dance floor.”
There’s no ulterior agenda for the event — although de Boer has decided to donate the proceeds to the Kent Harrison Arts Council and the Harrison Festival Society, as she doesn’t need the money — and that is perhaps one of the more unusual parts of her dance.
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“The band, they sent me a note saying ‘We forgot to ask you what the occasion is. Is it a birthday, an anniversary?’” she said. “I said, ‘No. I just want to dance.’”
So far, de Boer has sold about half of the 200 tickets she has available, and expects to be sold out by the time Feb. 23 rolls around.
“I think the community is just kind of rallying around and saying what a lovely thing,” she said. “My hope is that it just be an annual, mid-February, let’s-just-go-and-dance (event).”
Tickets are $15 and available at Agassiz Produce (7266 Pioneer Ave), the Ranger Station Gallery (98 Rockwell Dr) and Cottonwood 4 Cinemas in Chilliwack (45380 Luckakuck Way). All proceeds from the event will go to support KHAC and the Harrison Festival Society.
grace.kennedy@ahobserver.com
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