It gets dark early in late September and the community is invited to “Hold Back the Night” at a contra dance during Wiscasset Art Walk (WAW) on Thursday, Sept. 28. WAW runs from 5 to 8 p.m. with the dance party beginning around 6:30 p.m. under the tent on Water Street in Wiscasset Village.

Contra dance band T-Acadie will play the tunes and call the dances, but will first give contra dance lessons so everyone knows the steps for dancing together. Contra dancing is a form of folk dancing, similar to square dancing, but with people forming lines, facing each other, and changing partners throughout the dance. Singles invited.

According to T-Acadie member Pam Weeks, contra dancing is very family-friendly. The littlest kids can stay with mom or dad and dance with them as one, she explained, and for older kids who dance alone, more experienced dancers will gently guide them through the steps.

Admission to the dance party is free. Jodie’s Restaurant will provide food for sale, and Water St. Kitchen will be selling adult beverages. And to mark 10 years of Wiscasset Art Walk, celebration cupcakes are free until they run out!

The three members of Maine’s T-Acadie, Weeks, Bill Olson and Jim Joseph, have been playing together for more than 25 years. They play French dance music from North America (Quebecois, Acadian and Cajun), and songs from Maine and New England, Appalachia and the South. They play old-time tunes, reels and jigs, sea shanteys and original tunes written by Weeks. She, Jim and Bill are all multi-instrumentalists, playing some combination of fiddles, guitars, accordions, banjo, mountain and hammered dulcimer, cello, mandolin, piano, ukulele, bass, flute and saxophone. They sing acapella, and they harmonize. Olson is a nationally known caller whose dance compositions are used all over the world. More details about T-Acadie can be found on www.t-acadie.com 

Visit Wiscasset Village to enjoy the final Wiscasset Art Walk of the 2023 season on Thursday, Sept. 28, from 5 to 8 p..m. and stay for the joy of the contra dance starting as the sun sets at 6:25 p.m.!

In 2023, the business sponsors who support the many free WAW activities and performers, including “Hold Back the Night” and T-Acadie, are Lead Sponsor Fogg and Dalton Art Restoration and Major Sponsors Ames True Value, Big Barn Coffee, Bradbury Art & Antiques, Carriage House Gardens, Cod Cove Inn, First National Bank, J. Edward Knight Insurance, Jodie’s Café, Peter Eaton Antiques, Red’s Eats, Rock Paper Scissors, Sherri Dunbar/Tim Dunham Realty, IndustrialME, BIRCH Home Furnishings & Gifts, and Water Street Kitchen & Bar.

For more information about Wiscasset Art Walk, visit www.wiscassetartwalk.org or email to wiscassetartwalk@verizon.net . Wiscasset Art Walk is a program of Wiscasset Creative Alliance.