The other night, I was privileged to call a dance at one of the local square dancing landmarks. It is a historic building owned by square dancers in the heart of northern Kentucky. Once a crown jewel of the area, it is now showing the telltale signs of aging (as we all are!! lol). Recent efforts to maintain and upgrade the venue have been somewhat hampered by events beyond their control, the most recent being a major ceiling leak caused by a runaway loaf of bread (unbelievable, I know, but sadly true...) But, despite setbacks, the inside has been brightened by a new coat of paint and, of course, the monthly themed decorations hung by dedicated elves who strive to keep everything fresh and new. The inside is looking great. But that is not what the locals see most of the time.
In the front entrance way from the sidewalk are two enormous storefront windows. Approximately 8 ft wide x 10 ft high x 4 ft deep, it is an absolutely perfect place to showcase square dancing and show all the fun and philanthropic activities that we are involved in. It is an ideal location to build a display to show off and draw people into all the types of dancing that are offered there- lines, rounds, squares, hex squares, even jazzercise. It is an amazing opportunity to reach out and show the public how much we have progressed and modernized our activity and to show how many people are involved and how many clubs actually meet in the Greater Cincinnati area. It is a great place to highlight the youth square dance club that meets there, that was not only started by kids but which is also run and called by kids. It is a great alcove for placing flyers and business cards with information for anyone who wants to learn more. Those windows are a goldmine of potential - a source that can be used 24/7 to effortlessly promote and draw people to our activity. For FREE.
I have walked passed those windows many times over the years and honestly, I have never stopped to really look at them. But,several weeks ago, I conducted a seminar on revamping our efforts to promote so, this time, I decided to stop and look at them as if I was a newcomer, a casual passerby who knew nothing about the activity.
So.....
What I saw were a few tired, old black and white text posters, one which had been “patched” with a recycled flyer and masking tape. Parts of them were actually yellowed with age. There were no colorful decorations to catch the eye, no mention of the youth group, no promotions for ANY of the many causes the square dancers promote. There were 3 identical posters with square dancers drawn on them which were obviously from the 50’s. (Do we realize that was over 50 years ago?!?!) There was a square dance couple dressed in the ugly red and gray outfits from when Cincinnati had hosted the National Square Dance Convention in ’92. (I know that because my friend, who no longer dancers, and I actually MADE those… lol,) Of course, there were no descriptions or pictures commemorating that. In fact, there were no descriptions of any kind and the only pictures were a couple small 8x10s of posed square dancers. Meaningful for square dancers maybe but for a newcomer, boring.
Bottom line, there is nothing there that would compel me as a new person to want to join. In fact, the display would have made me believe that the building had been abandoned since the 50’s.
And we wonder why no one is joining our activity. I know that no one wants to present that image. They just are like me and forget to really look at what image we are projecting. We have so much to offer. I would love to see those windows updated and realize their potential in showing people what our activity is REALLY all about. Anyone care to help?
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