Welcome Winter Dance Party fans!

(Above) The 2018 Winter Dance Party will pay tribute to Surf owner, the late Dean Snyder, pictured here at the event with his wife, Joanne, in 2008.

On the eve of the 39th annual event, music lovers say it’s still ‘fab’

Paul King probably says it best.  When asked how the Winter Dance Party— the Surf Ballroom’s tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, continues to thrive, he pointedly says “because of Clear Lake.”

“I have often said that if ‘The Day The Music Died’ had to happen, then thank goodness it was here in Clear Lake,” laughed King, who will be attending his 21st Winter Dance Party in 2018.   “I’ve been to all the locations on the (original) Winter Dance Party and nowhere else compares to Clear Lake.  I cannot imagine – and I am not being unkind here – thousands of people going to, say Montevideo or Fort Dodge each year.  Because Clear Lake is a resort, there is much to see here anyway, not just the Surf.  People become fascinated by Clear Lake—  now Dot and I did, and we decide to come back and have a look when the weather is fine!”

King gives huge credit to the Snyder family and Surf staff for continuing to help the Winter Dance Party evolve.  That’s a constant consideration for the Surf’s Board of Directors and its Executive Director Laurie Lietz.

“The original performers list gets shorter and shorter each year and we always try to get those acts who have not been here before,” said Lietz.  Now days, it is more likely groups who have at least one original member will perform, such as J. Siegel’s Tokens this year.

Lietz said organizers consider Thursday night to be ‘originals night’ and try to bring in that type of performer to play the music from the era.  Friday continues to be more of a sock hop atmosphere, with a vintage style show and dance contest.  And Saturday is a night for those acts who especially made their mark in rock and roll.  This year Brenda Lee, Bobby Rydell, Albert Lee, Linda Gail Lewis and Danny B. Harvey and Annie Marie Lewis will perform Saturday.

“We’ve been trying to get Brenda Lee for a long time,” confessed Lietz.  “Some years our February event works into schedules and other times not.  For example, some of these performers are typically on cruises or on stages somewhere warm.  They have to really want to be part of the Winter Dance Party.  Our weather doesn’t do us any favors.”

Next year the Winter Dance Party will be celebrating it’s 40th year, and despite aging performers and their fans, Lietz said the event still continues to be a sellout.  (As of presstime Tuesday, only a small quantity of tickets to the three day event remained).

“I would say we have an equal number of new ticket holders— or those who’ve only come five or six times— to those who have been here 10 or more,” said Lietz.  “It’s neat to see younger generations from families who are carrying on the family tradition of coming.”

King says he is also pleased to promote the music— and event

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which celebrates it, in the schools.  Each year he and others organize “Buddy’s Buddies,” who are artists, themselves fans, drawn from all over the USA and England.  They put on shows at Garner and Clear Lake each February to commemorate “The Day The Music Died.”   Proceeds from the event support scholarships to students planning to pursue a career in music.

“I think the way that the Surf has spread the good news about itself and it’s important place in Iowa’s culture and history is making  a real difference,” said King.  “We need to tell the kids about it, that’s why I’m pleased to help in my little way.”

Lietz said that to keep the Winter Dance Party fresh, planners try to weave in new twists, such as a vintage style show, instead of a costume contest, and a Red Carpet welcome which is aired live on CL Vision from 6-8 p.m. Friday night.

Yet some of the tried and true side events, such as Margaret Majerczyk’s annual British Buddy Holly Society Luncheon which draws 80 persons, are sellouts every year.  The 29th luncheon continues that trend Friday at the Best Western.  This year the Valens family has planned a luncheon for Saturday, also at the Best Western.

“We think it’s great the Valens family wants to plan this luncheon to remember Ritchie and enjoy lunch and a visit with fans,” said Lietz.

  Fans are also invited to attend The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at the Surf District Rock ’n Roll Grill Friday to celebrate the life of Daryl Hensley, who organized the first Buddy Holly tribute event at the Surf in 1979.  Hensley was killed in a bicycle accident in September 2017.

The wedding/vow renewal ceremony Friday afternoon is also a hit and this year a real wedding is scheduled.

Saturday’s finale to the weekend will include a tribute to Surf Ballroom owner Dean Snyder, who passed away Jan. 13.

“A major reason this (Winter Dance Party) has endured these past 20 years is that when the Snyder family bought the Surf, although it took a while to get the management right, they restored the fabric and laid the foundations.  The present management structure has successfully managed the change from the times when it was relatively easy to get 50s acts, to now when very few of those acts have survived or are still playing.  They’ve done this by doing a good job of integrating later acts into the Winter Dance Party and accepting that it is now necessary to include tribute acts,” said King.

Lietz agreed, saying there are new challenges every year, but the Winter Dance Party remains a popular event.  She credits the Snyder family, Surf leadership and often overlooked volunteers.

“We couldn’t do it without such a supporting community and the volunteers who donate their time and talents in many different ways,” she said.

“The wonderful, safe atmosphere at the Winter Dance Party, and the friendships that have evolved here, encourage us all to tell others about it,” added King.  “We defy anybody to come here and then say “Well, it was alright, but…..”.  No, everyone who comes here is a probable returnee.”

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