Portland-based band Hands4 provides authentic contra dance music Saturday, May 14 at Fort Columbia State Park in Chinook, Wash. Submitted photo.

FORT COLUMBIA STATE PARK, Wash. – A contra dance with live music by Portland band Hands4 starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 14 at the Fort Columbia Theater in Fort Columbia State Park, Chinook, Wash. Caller is David Ambrose of Astoria.

The event is part of the Northwest Folklife Arts & Trails project, which presents folk and traditional arts programs in state parks located along the Lewis & Clark Trail in Washington. The program will include a very brief presentation about contra dancing and its history, followed by a teaching session and an evening of contra dancing.

Hands4 brings its high-energy music to dance halls throughout the Pacific Northwest. Members are Keith Moe (fiddle, mandolin), Hank Laramee (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, percussion), Fran Tewksbury (whistle, flute, percussion) and Carl Thor (piano, hammered dulcimer). Combining seldom-used traditional tunes with original tunes by band members and other musicians, Hands4 creates a unique blend of music that is definitely not your usual contra tunes, and will have feet and bodies moving in short order.

Contra dancing, a popular American folk dance tradition similar in many ways to square dancing, derives from English and French country dancing and dates back to the 1700s. The Lewis and Clark expedition is known to have included at least two fiddle players, and the logs contain references to sessions of music and dancing in the camp and with the native people. It’s quite likely that some form of contra dancing, or at least the music used at the time for contra dancing, was a part of the proceedings during the expedition.

No experience is necessary for contra dancing. Singles, couples and families are welcome. All dances are taught and walked through prior to dancing, and prompted by the caller when the music begins.

The Arts & Trails project has been funded by the Washington State Arts Commission, a regional initiative co-sponsored by the Idaho and Oregon state arts commissions and the Rivers & Trails Program of the National Park Service. Northwest Folklife is partnering with the Washington State Parks to coordinate and present the Arts & Trails events.

For more information about this dance and about contra dancing in Astoria, contact Dave Ambrose at (503) 325-3602. For more information about the Arts & Trails project, contact Jill Linzee, Northwest Folklife, at (206) 684-7324.