El Camino Reelers
Location: Palo Alto, CA USA
Web Site: http://www.reelers.org
Started: 1985
History: Started by Marilyn Martinyak and Pat Dixon as an alternative to the gay square dance clubs located an hour away in San Francisco. Due to its location, the club is well-known as a "geek repository", boasting members employed by Adobe, Sun, Google, and Yahoo.
Classes: A combined Mainstream-Plus class is taught once yearly, generally starting in late August or early September, and finishing up the following April or May. Advanced classes are taught periodically.
Club Caller[s]: Rich Reel
Past Club Caller[s]: Bill Hanzel, Mike Luna, Vicki Woods, Harlan Kerr, Andy Shore
Dance Location[s]: St. Andrews United Methodist Church / 4111 Alma Street / Palo Alto, CA (map)
Fly-Ins Hosted:
- "Slide Thru Silicon Valley" June 30 - July 3, 1995
- Cubberley Community Center, Palo Alto, CA--Callers: Mike Jacobs, Andy Shore, Deborah Parnell, John Sybalsky
- "Shakedown Along The Fault" (West Coast A&C Weekend) October 3-5, 1997
- Mount Alverno Confrence Center, Redwood City, CA--Callers: Vic Ceder, Kiyoshi Kikuchi, John Sybalsky, Anne Uebelacker, Rob French, and C.J. Smith
- "Slide Thru Silicon Valley: From Stetsons To Jetsons" January 7-9, 2000
- St. Andrews Methodist Church and Cubberley Community Center, Palo Alto, CA--Callers: Vic Ceder and Andy Finch
- “Slide Thru Silicon Valley: The Summer of Love” July 5-7, 2001
- Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, CA--Callers: Anne Uebelacker and Neil Heather
- “Download the Boat” September 6, 7, 8, 2002
- Cupertino High School, Cupertino, CA--Callers: Vic Ceder and Michael Kellogg
- "Slide Thru Silicon Valley: ECR@25” April 2-4, 2010
- Holiday Inn, San Jose, CA--Callers: Saundra Bryant, Michael Kellogg, Andy Shore, Rich Reel, Harlan Kerr
Conventions Hosted:
- 1996: "Stars, Thars and Cable Cars", July 3-6, 1996 in San Francisco, CA (Embarcadero Hyatt) (Co-hosted with Foggy City Dancers and Western Star Dancers)
- 2005: "Star Thru the Silicon Galaxy", July 1-4, 2005 in Santa Clara, CA (Santa Clara Marriott)