Thursday, November 14 was the Birthday of Teresa Werner who is part of BOTH the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boppers and the Eight Week Wonders. A group of her fans got together and surprised her at T.G. Fridays in Fair Lakes. Happy Birthday, Teresa!

Happy Birthday Teresa
Photo Credit: Catherine Bradley


The Celebrants
Photo Credit: Catherine Bradley


Catherine, David and the Dessert
Photo Credit: Catherine Bradley


The Staff adds its Felicitations
Photo Credit: Catherine Bradley

The Tom Cunningham Orchestra put on another wonderful dance at the Bumper car Pavillion at Glen Echo Park. The late October weather was quite a bit colder than during the summer, but the plastic "walls" plus the large crowd made dancing quite pleasurable. We had a wonderful time. Tommy Greco had a birthday which was duly recognized with a FANTASTIC cake from the Heidelberg Bakery in Maclean. The band really sounded good.

Happy Birthday, Tommy!
Angela and Robin present the cakes


Debra and Tom


Dana and Brian
They are using our tips to remodel a kitchen


Hillary has been eating his Wheaties
Tracy, Hillary, Karyn


Tom Ede, Zoot Fashion Plate

Rene's Supper Club is located on Fairfax Circle, near the Home Depot. Recently, they have been having Friday night dances with 50s bands like the Bel Airs and the T-Birds. A group decided to check out the scene on October 25,2002. The black lights, disco ball, and fog machine suggested an era quite different from the 1950s. Although the gang was dressed in Retro 50s, possibly rhinestone sandals and lighted belts would have been more in order. The cover was announced as $12, but $15 was charged, plus a mandatory 20% gratuity. I do not advise eating there. These negatives aside, the dance floor was acceptable and the band was very good. We had a nice time, mainly because we came as a group and had a good rapport with the band. This type of excursion makes you appreciate the "regular" swing scene all that more.

The T-Birds


Catherine and David


Teresa and Tom


Sue and Gary


Pam


Barbara and Carleton

On October 19, 2002, it was our great pleasure to attend a birthday celebration for Craig Gildner, pianist for both The Blue Sky Five and The Tom Cunningham Orchestra. The event was held at La Paneterra in Bethesda. Happy Birthday, Craig!

Angela, Craig, Cameron and Lili


The Cunningham Band was well represented


More of the crowd


Tommy Greco
Tommy has been named Producer of the Year by Arlington Cable


Cameron gave Craig a Mujaheddin hat
Straight from Afghanistan


Happy Birthday "Greg"
Tony, Tricia, Chrissie and Thomas
watch Craig blow out the candles on the mis-lettered cake...

Frankie Manning made a Tuesday evening appearance at Clarendon Ballroom. He taught a beginner lesson to about 150 people. During the break, Frankie told stories about dancing in Harlem in the 1920s (admission was a nickel to hear Chick Webb!). He also told a story about dancing with Betty Grable at a USO show in the Solomon Islands (Frankie won a bronze star for heroism in the battle for Guadalcanal) He got into the jam and led a Shim Sham that must have had 250 people. The whole crowd had a wonderful time. Thanks to Tom and Debra for organizing the event and to the Tom Cunningham Orchestra for providing fantastic sounds.

Frankie teaches a very cool Savoy routine


Frankie Manning and Debra Sternberg in the Jam


The Tom Cunningham Orchestra


Robin Cunningham


Tom and Carolyn in the jam
Photo Credit: Catherine Bradley

Sue and Gary in the Jam
Photo Credit: Catherine Bradley

The Rev. Taylor and Entourage
Arnold writes:"this includes Lil and our guests from Germany.
They said that night was the highlight of their visit with us,
although there were some other events that pleased them highly
- like the night trip to a spot behind the Iwo Jima Memorial positioned so we could see the
Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the Capitol building all lighted up.
I try to take all my guests there. These gals were in awe."

Catherine and Mark Walvoord recently returned from their honeymoon in Tahiti (Click here to see their wedding pictures...) Believe it or not, there was an evening where there really wan't any dancing! So, instead of a dull evening showing slides, Catherine and Mark decided to provide a more tangible account of their trip to Tahiti --- they hosted a Murder Mystery party with a Polynesian theme. They also served a fabulous dinner based on authentic Tahitian recipes...

Our story begins at a Sunset Luau on a Maui beach. It is the 33d birthday of private-eye Chase Diamond, a man willing to take big risks to get results for his clients. Diamond has a reputation for romancing too many ladies at the same time. In a celebratory mood, Diamond raised his glass to toast a group of friends who had gathered for his party. He took one swallow and immediately fell to the ground....stone cold dead!...his Mai tai had been spiked with poison! Before the police arrived, the party-goers discussed the case among themselves..."

At the Luau
The major suspects confront each other!


Nadia Seymour
A sexy swimsuit model who has just finished a photo shoot and is vacationing in Maui before returning to the runways of New York. Nadia met Chase at a local nightclub. This femme-fatale shows her true colors when Chase tries to break off therelationship...


Leilani
This sweet, innocent Hawaiian hula dancer is a popular entertainer at island resort hotels with a repertoire of graceful hula dances that tell mythical stories through symbolic movements...


Holly Day
A wealthy socialite sailing the South seas in her sevnty foot yacht. Her billionaire hubby is a jealous, possessive man who has already divorced three unfaithful wives. Rumor has it Holly has been busy checking out the men of Hawaii...


Rip Tide (l) and Joey Breakers (r)
Joey Breakers is also known as "Bo-Jo", the bodacious surfer who is always after the Ultimate wave. Joey learned his surfing skills in California and then moved to Hawaii. He does odd jobs for his old college buddy, Chase. Surveilance, illegal entries, wire taps... he does all the dirty work and Chase gets all the glory...
Rip Tide is a local scuba instructor.


Les Baggs
A camera-toting, befuddled and bumbling tourist. Les is determined to see and do everything on his holiday. Unfortunately, his natural clumsiness has resulted in a series of mishapss --- he landed at the wrong airport, lost his luggage, and injured his foot... he hired Chase to find his luggage, claiming they contained items of great sentimental value


J' accuse!
The group discussed the evidence and took a vote....


Catherine and Mark
Thanks for everything, kids!

The Eight Week Wonders were invited to perform at a banquet at Leisure World. (This was our 3rd appearance in as many years...) This year, we invited the fabulous A Train to join us for the event. After the performance, we went out for Tex-Mex. The A-Train sure knows how to Par-tay...

The A-Train


The Eight Week Wonders


The Adults Table
The A Train dancers brough their significant others...


Kids Table

The 8WW brought their Children


A Toast!
There were lots of these
I think that this one toasted St. Swithin's Day
or, it could be to the Binomial Theorem, I forget..

Peaches O'Dell put on another show at the Bumper Car Pavillion at Glen Echo Park. There was a really large crowd who enjoyed temperatures in the 60s. John Psychoboy McCalla gave a great lesson and led a fairly big Shim Sham at the end of the second set. Ellen and Mark were on hand to lead folks in some of their 1950s Dances including the Stroll, the Hand Jive and The Madison. It was a whole lot of fun!

Psychoboy was over the top, as usual


Tracy and Greg, recently Engaged!!


Theresa Werner and Tom Webster


Lisa and Mark
Mark plays keyboards for The Fabulettes and Tom Vaughn & the Roadhouse Five


Kay and Stan


Karyn and Frank
Karyn made the dress from a 1950s pattern
I got the suit on ourVintage Shopping Trip

David Seng, the newest high-energy entry to the DC dance scene, celebrated his birthday on Setember 26, 2002. David (and his lovely partner, Catherine) entered 8 events at VSO -- that's real High Energy. We clebrated David's birthday with a dinner at Maggiano's and dancing to Lush Life at Chevy Chase Ballroom.

(l. to r.): Mary Rose, David, Catherine, Karyn, Tracy


(l. to r.): Elizabeth, David, Sue, Gary, Tracy


Celebrating at CCB


David's Birthday Cake

On september 29, 2002, a new venue opened -- it's the Swingin' Savoy Club, upstairs at Maggiano's Restaurant in Chevy Chase. The event will be held on the last saturday of every month, and features a buffet supper and dancing to the sounds of Night and Day. About 150 people attended. Ellen and Marc gave a lesson, and folks enjoyed themselves. The gig runs from 6:30 to 9:00, and about 100 people stayed to the very end. This looks like a promising event!

Night and Day in action


Ellen takes a break from dancing to chat

Lil and Arnold Taylor

Delores and Joe the famous Shaggers