Square dancers congregate in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 27 (UPI) -- The 59th National Square Dance Convention came to a close Saturday in Louisville, Ky., with one-fifth the number of dancers the event attracted there in 1983.

The three-day annual gathering brought nearly 6,300 dancers to the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center this year, a fraction of the throng of 30,000 that descended on the center the last time Louisville played host to the event 27 years ago, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported Sunday.

Participants, mostly retirees, lamented the decline of their pastime while celebrating it with as much gusto as they did decades ago.

"It is a glorious high. It is better than bourbon," Doug Brinkman, a retired property manager from western Canada, told the Courier-Journal.

The convention's organizers relaxed the dress code this year to attract new dancers, but it was mostly the longtime attendees who took advantage of being allowed to wear more casual shoes and attire between dances.

Christina Wiggins, a participant from Texas, said she met her husband in 1989 at a square dance singles event. "It is a place where you can go with no alcohol. You get a lot of hugs. You smile and laugh," she said.

Next year's convention will be held in Detroit June 22-25, 2011.