Contra Rebels will return to Fiesta, everyone welcome to dance

The Contra Rebels, a contra dance band from the Harrisburg area, will return to the Fine Arts Fiesta to provide traditional music for a contra dance set for 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday May 19 at the Fine Arts Fiesta on Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square.

Caller Bob Nicholson from upstate New York also is expected to be on hand, explaining the movements to beginners as well as experienced dancers, just as he did during the 2023 contra dance at the Fiesta, which Fiesta executive director later described as “wonderful” and “terrific.”

Contra dancing can be compared to the way the characters dance in movies based on Jane Austen novels. And it’s similar to how pioneers used to dance in barns or around campfires when their work was done.

Bystanders are welcome to join in, and if this year’s dance is similar to last year’s dance, you’ll soon see children and adults dancing together, to the music of fiddles and guitar.

— Mary Therese Biebel