Family dance revives an Antrim tradition
Published: 12-26-2024 1:03 PM |
Like many people who grew up in Antrim, Renee Mercier-Gerritson has fond memories of the Fire Department dances that used to take place in Antrim through the 1970s and 1980s.
“Everyone loved them, and everyone used to go,” Mercier-Gerritson said. “As far as I know, there has not been a dance since the Fire Department stopped doing them.”
The dances stopped after the death of longtime Antrim Fire Chief Barry Frosch and his wife, Sandy, who Mercier-Gerritson remembers fondly. The couple were killed in a car accident in Hillsborough in 1992.
“We are always trying to raise money for the Grange Hall, so I said, ‘Why don’t we do have a community dance and bring that tradition back?’ No one has done that,” Mercier-Gerritson said.
The Antrim “Dress Your Best” community dance is Saturday, Dec. 28, from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Great Brook Middle School gym. Tickets can be reserved by calling Mercier-Gerritson at 603-547-5144 or by sending email to renee_mercier@yahoo.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $8 per person or $25 per family.
“People can interpret ‘Dress Your Best’ any way they want. They can wear their best suit and tie or best dress, or they can wear their best sweatshirt,” Mercier-Gerritson said. “We’re having a contest and prizes for the best-dressed people.”
Guests at the dance will vote for the best-dressed attendees in three age groups. Prizes include donations from local businesses. CJ the DJ, a professional DJ from Troy, will spin music for all ages at the dance.
“He’s really excited; he loves working benefit events,” Mercier-Gerritson said. “He can play anything from oldies to kids’ music to dance music.”
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The dance will also have a snacks, available by donation, and a raffle of handmade prizes, including a crocheted blanket a professionally tie-died T-shirt.
“This is a fundraiser for the Grange Hall, so we will have donation jars all over the place, but is anyone is hungry, they are welcome to grab a sandwich,” Mercier-Gerritson said. “We’ll also have a disco ball, and we’ll have a photo corner under a trellis, and people can request songs from the DJ.”
The event is partly sponsored by Antrim Historical Society and the Antrim Players.
Teens age 13 and up can attend unaccompanied by an adult if they bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Antrim-Bennington Food Pantry at the First Baptist Church of Antrim. All ages are welcome at the dance, but children under 13 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
“This will give families something to do over Christmas break. It’s kind of a long break this year, so we’re hoping everyone will turn out for the dance,” Mercier-Gerritson said. “It’s not just for Antrim; anyone from the area is welcome.”
Tickets for the Antrim Grange Robert Burns Tea on Jan. 25 will be available at the dance.
“Last year, we had to turn people away, as the hall at the Presbyterian Church only seats 80 people,” Mercier-Gerritson said. “We have already sold one ticket, so there are 79 still available. The haggis is on its way.”
Funds from both events will go toward the ongoing renovations to the 240-year-old Antrim Grange Hall. The Grange has existed in Antrim since 1844.
“It is a lot bigger project than we expected,” Mercier-Gerritson said. “Our next step, once the foundation is finished, is closing the back of the building back in. Once we’re done with the outside, we can work on fixing the inside. A lot of damp has gotten in there while we were working on the foundation, and it really needs a lot of work.”
The Grange Hall building was Antrim’s original meetinghouse. Built in 1785, the building used to sit on the top of Antrim’s Meetinghouse Hill until it was moved by oxen to the current site on Route 31 sometime in the 1860s. New Hampshire Grange No. 98, which had always met at the Meetinghouse, purchased the building from the town in the 1894. Plans for the building include a repairing the stage and making the space accessible.