Line Dancing Takes Center Stage at Lilac Festival

This article first appeared in the June 17 print edition of the Mackinac Island Town Crier.

It’s not often the streets of Mackinac Island are blocked off to even the horses, but Saturday evening, June 10, Market Street between Astor Street and the post office, was barricaded from the usual horse and bicycle traffic. The street was instead filled with dancers, young and old, neophytes and experienced, for line Dancing in the Street with the West Michigan Bootscooters, a free event coinciding with the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival. Dozens of visitors joined the group, filling the street with a diverse mixture of dancers moving, stepping, and spinning in cowboy boots, sandals, and sneakers.

Carol Chaddock, one of the founding members of the West Michigan Bootscooters, stood in front of the group facing the speakers, decked out in a lime green t-shirt over a neon orange long-sleeve shirt and a straw-colored cowgirl hat, to make it easier for participants to follow along and learn the steps. Mrs. Chaddock has been with the Bootscooters for 30 years.

Mark Nielsen in the black hat and president of the West Michigan Bootscooters, was out on the dance floor assisting visitors and passers-by in joining the fun. He encouraged everyone to try a dance, or to at least watch to see what it was all about.

This year, they danced traditional line dances and partner routines, such as the Electric Slide and the Blue Rose, but things really got rowdy with The Wobble. The Wobble is one of Mrs. Chaddock’s favorite dances.

“I love teaching other people how to dance,” Mrs. Chaddock said. “And we’re so happy that the lilacs are in bloom this year.”

Mrs. Chaddock has been coming to the Island for the Lilac Festival with the Bootscooters for nearly every year since they started attending around 1997. Back then, the Bootscooters danced on Main Street, and then moved to one of the docks. Neither location quite fits, so they now pound the pavement on Market Street. She’s been bringing her grandchildren to dance since they were about eight years old, and they are now in their twenties.

Mark Nielsen, president of the Bootscooters, said this year was his second time coming to dance during Lilac Festival, though he had been to the Island many times before. The event is a lot of fun and brings so much energy, he said. Everyone passing by was invited to join in. The dances are repetitive and meant to be easy to pick up from beginner to intermediate and up to more advanced levels.

Carol Chaddock, one of the founding members of the West Michigan Bootscooters, has attended nearly all the Bootscooters’ events since it started coming to the Island for the Lilac Festival. MCKENNA JOHNSON / MACKINAC ISLAND TOWN CRIER

“It’s not just country-western line dance music,” he said. “It’s every type of music imaginable.”

The Bootscooters is a nonprofit organization that started 30 years ago in Muskegon when a local couple learned country line dancing and then came back to their community and began teaching it to others. There was a lot of interest, and they eventually started a club. The club now dances every Saturday night at the city hall in Ferrysburg. The group has gone through changes and bounced around, and once had close to 600 members, but it has always stayed in West Michigan. They now have about 155 members. The club is beginner-friendly and always encourages others to join them. More than 30 of its members came to the Island this year for the Lilac Festival.

One of those members was Todd Hamstra. Mr. Hamstra, from Grand Haven, began his dancing journey as a ballroom dancer. When he needed to learn “how to sway” for his daughter’s wedding, he went to the Bootscooters. He loved it so much and couldn’t get enough, so he started line dancing as well. This is his third year coming to the Island with the Bootscooters, and he’s even met some buddies along the way who have reciprocated and joined him in the ballroom. “It’s the same steps just presented in a different way,” Mr. Hamstra said. Mr. Nielsen agrees.

“A jazz box is a jazz box,” Mr. Nielsen said. “It’s the same whether you’re doing a ballroom dance or you’re doing a line dance.”

Mr. Hamstra enjoys getting to dance in the ballroom at Grand Hotel, and then participating in line dancing in the street the next night. Crystal Ringwald handed out purple beaded necklaces to anyone who got out on the dance floor. She has been with the group since 1986 and has joined the Bootscooters for most of the years they have been attending the Lilac Festival. She travels with a group that camps in Mackinaw City, enjoying the camaraderie of the event.

“It’s a fun group. They’re very active, and people participate,” Mrs. Ringwald said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Much of the group’s popularity comes from word of mouth. This year, they’re planning to return in August for the Island’s Fudge Festival.

“We absolutely love doing it,” Mrs. Chaddock said. “We hope to continue it for many years to come. Please come and join us.” n

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