December Square Dance!
Schedule
Sat Dec 13 2025 at 07:30 pm to 09:30 pm
UTC-05:00Location
3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA | Philadelphia, PA
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Join us on 12/13/25 for a night of dancing and music with Donna Hunt calling and live music from Deb Shebish and friends!LOCATION! We will be in the church parish hall at St. Mary's at Penn, 3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104. Enter through the back!
More detailed directions:
The Parish Hall at St. Mary's at Penn is located at 3916 Locust Walk. The church is between 39th and 40th Streets, on a pedestrian-only portion of Locust Street on the Penn Campus. The parish hall is located closer to Irving St, in the same building as the St. Mary's Nursery School. You can follow our signs to enter through the back of the building to access the hall.
If anyone knows someone who wants to volunteer at the table, please email [email protected].
Deb Shebish and Friends are a four piece old-time string band! Deb Shebish is a fiery fiddler who has played with the many of the great fiddlers all over the country. One of her latest exciting projects is with award winning musicians Travis Stuart and Micah Spence.
She will be joined by Keith Brand on banjo, Ben Cocchiaro on bass, and Josh Willis on guitar.
Donna Hunt calls contra and square dances with interesting choreography and variations. She is known for utilizing clear, concise instructions to minimize teaching time and maximize dance time. Equally comfortable calling with a “techno” DJ as a “traditional” band of musicians, she offers programs of exciting dances in a variety of figures and formations for the dancers’ enjoyment. Donna infuses the dancers with confidence, regardless of their skill level, and she enjoys guiding new dancers and challenging experienced ones.
Donna presently lives near Philadelphia, Pa and she is a regular caller at the Thursday Night and the 3rd Saturday Contra Dances in the Mt Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA, the Valley Contra Dance in Bethlehem, PA, and the Arden Contra dance in Arden, DE. Since she began in 1989, Donna has called for dances throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic States and as far away as Colorado and California. She has called for weekend events including NEFFA, Dance Flurry, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Gender-free Dance Camp, Folk Project Festival, Head for the Hills and the now defunct Heritage and NOMAD Dance Festivals.
Donna’s experience with family dances, square dances, barn dances, and wedding dances make her a popular caller for private parties with participants who do not yet know that they are dancers.
Donna has been an avid dancer since the late 1980's, enjoying a variety of dance styles including Contras, Squares, Cajun/Zydeco, Swing, Waltz, Irish Sets, Appalachian Clogging and English Country dancing among others. In addition to presenting workshops on any topic related to Contra Dancing, Donna teaches couple dancing for Waltz, Swing, and Schottische including variations. She can create a workshop specifically for your group, just ask!
As usual - doors at 7, Dance at 7:30pm, last waltz at 9:30pm, snacks and chats and jams to follow. All dances are taught, beginners welcome.
In other news - We are raising the suggested donation price of the dance to sliding scale from $15-25. It is still sliding scale with none turned away for lack of funds! However, our current space is more expensive. The break even price of the dance is around $15 in our current space, so hopefully we can keep this event self-sustaining!
P.S. For more Philly folk dancing, checkout Thursday Night Contra at the Irish Center in Mt Airy (6815 Emlen St, Phila, PA, Thursdays, 7:30-10:30pm).
To sum it all up:
What: West Philly Square Dance
Who: Donna Hunt with Deb Shebish and Friends
When: 12/13/2025 7:30-9:30pm
Where: St. Mary's Church Parish Hall, 3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104.
How much: $15-25 notaflof (no one turned away for lack of funds)
snacks and tunes to follow
Gender-free calling, masks optional
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Where is it happening?
3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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