61st National Square Dance Convention® ... Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Dress Code Requirements?
Dressy Casual before 6pm & on Wednesday Night Dances 8 - 10:30pm is slacks or "long" shorts & T-shirts.
Proper Square Dance attire is long pants & long sleeve shirts for Men and long or short skirts for Ladies.

The dress code for Clogging in the evening is Dressy casual.

What is NOT acceptable at any time ... cutoffs, tank tops, tube tops, flip flops.

Will there be a Visitor pass?
The Visitor Pass (price $5) will be available at the Walk-Up Registration Station in the INB Lobby. This pass will allow you to attend the Education Sessions, shop with our Vendors, watch the Exhibition dancers & Fashion Show and visit the dancers in the 12 Dance Halls.
You can do everything a person with a Dancer badge can do EXCEPT get on the dance floor.

Will there be any events for Solo dancers?
There will be a “Meet & Greet” for Solo dancers on Thursday afternoon, as well as several sessions of Solo Mainstream and a Solo Plus dance. Check out the schedule on the new Solo Dancer web page.

The bar-b-que meal (before the Wednesday special "Timebenders") show sounds delicious, but what about gluten??
The bar-b-que is all GLUTEN-FREE except the dinner rolls ... enjoy.

Is there a "one-day only" registration fee?
No … as stated on the back of the Registration Form, there is only one registration fee for attending and dancing at any National Square Dance Convention.

What types of food will be available?
A full buffet dinner will be available in the Convention Center (for only $11.25), as well as espresso carts, and 'faster' food options. And ..… plenty of ice cream.
Downtown Spokane has a wonderful selection of restaurants to choose from within walking distance.

I'm already registered. How do I purchase additional items?
Simply go to the Registration Form page and bring up the Registration Form. Fill in your name and address, etc and your registration number if you have that available (which would be on your registration confirmation, and will assist us to keep all your items together), and check off the additional items you'd like ... Program Book, Wednesday evening show and dinner tickets, Sewing Book, etc, etc. Print out the form and mail it along with your payment ... it's that easy.

Hotel Rooms?
Yes, 61st NSDC still has hotel rooms available, including both Headquarters Hotels (Doubletree and Red Lion Hotel at the Park). As room availability changes, the Housing website is updated. We suggest checking the Housing website frequently for new updates.
If there are questions, contact and work with the Housing Vice Chairman through the Housing – 2012 webpage on the 61st NSDC website: www.61nsdc.com

I've heard about 'Hoopfest' weekend. How will that effect coming to the 61st NSDC in Spokane?
Don't worry … 'Hoopfest' takes place in a different area of downtown Spokane, not in the Convention Center, and 'Hoopfest' is only on Saturday. We square dancers have Spokane to ourselves Wednesday through Friday.
* Hoopfest takes place in many cities across the United States, all on the same weekend, and has coincided with many other National Square Dance Conventions® ... with no problems.

What about transportation ... and bus passes?
Many of our hotels are on the "walking trail", and no shuttle or bus is needed (Doubletree Hotel, Travelodge at Convention Center, Red Lion Hotel at the Park, Red Lion River Inn, Oxford Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Courtyard by Marriott Downtown, Fairfield Inn).

We will not be using a public transportation system. All of our shuttle buses will be 61st NSDC buses, and will be running continuously to bring you to the Convention Center, and later return you to your lodgings. Our buses will begin early enough to take you to the Convention so you don't miss anything. And run late enough to take you back at the end of the day.

The 61st Parking Lot Shuttle Loop Pass is $12 per person, which covers Wednesday through Saturday. This is a continuous loop between the parking lot at Gonzaga University (parking is free) and the Convention Center. This Shuttle Loop is known as the ‘short loop’.

Dancers can also walk to the Convention Center by taking the walking pathway from Gonzaga University. The pathway is 0.8 miles long, paved and lighted. You may prefer the Shuttle Bus after a busy day of dancing, versus walking back to Gonzaga University following the After Parties at 11:00 pm.”

The Hotel Bus Pass is $40 per person, which covers Wednesday through Saturday.
This covers the 'East Hotels' which are: Holiday Inn Express - Valley, Quality Inn Valley Suites, Pheasant Hill Inn & Suites, and the Mirabeau Park Hotel.
This pass also covers the 'West Hotels' which are: Northern Quest Resort & Casino, Fairbridge Express Inn, and Best Western Peppertree Airport Inn.

The RV Bus Pass is $40 per person, which covers Wednesday through Saturday, for those dancers staying at the RV Park.

What about parking?
There are 'pay' parking lots near the Convention Center. The price is controlled by the management and 61st NSDC does not have input to setting these prices. There are no 'in and out' parking ‘privileges.’

We do not recommend parking at a hotel if you aren't staying at that hotel. Most hotels verify the license plate numbers of their guests. We do not know if these businesses would have cars towed and impounded of non-guests.

We look forward to seeing you in Spokane!!