Back in September, my husband Ben and I were offered an incredible opportunity: to partner with Laura Cook of Cook’s Main Street Mercantile and help manage her event space, Cook’s Main Stage.
Our background in events and entertainment made this a perfect partnership, and we were excited to get started.
We transplanted to Whitesboro from The Big City over four years ago in an effort to raise our family in a community -- a place where people know their neighbors and care about each other.
That was the biggest thing we noticed about Whitesboro: it’s a real community.
We not only wanted to be part of it. We wanted to help nurture and foster that sense of community.
We opened a spirit store in town. Ben joined the City Council and I started working at the paper. But we wanted to do more.
By helping to manage Cook’s Main Stage, we knew we could create opportunities for our community to gather for quality time together while creating fun memories.
We started slowly by hosting free movie nights, showing recent and older movies on a 15-foot screen inside the venue.
The response was positive, and we began brainstorming events we could host that would bring people together.
With the new year upon us, we decided to host a Line Dance Instruction & Country Dance night on Jan. 5.
As the dance drew closer, I began to grow nervous. Maybe choosing a date so close to the holidays was a bad idea. Maybe people would still be in vacation mode and wouldn’t want to go out to a public event.
We were floored when nearly 80 people attended the event. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and the night went exactly as we’d hoped (if not better).
But the things that really stood out to me were:
1.) Nobody seemed self-conscious.
A dance floor can be an intimidating place, even if someone is teaching all the moves.
I was impressed that everyone jumped right in, and anyone who seemed nervous was coaxed and encouraged by the people standing around them.
When you’re surrounded by friends, what’s to be nervous about?
2.) People didn’t come to dance -- they came to just be.
While most people attended the event with the intention of dancing, at least one woman entered the building timidly looking around.
I greeted her and asked if she was there for the dance.
“To be honest,” she said, “I’m just looking for a place to be with other people.”
Here was someone who simply didn’t want to spend an evening at home alone. We were able to create a space where she could just get out of the house and spend some time in a fun and welcoming environment.
I later saw that she had bumped into some friends and was having a wonderful time visiting and people watching.
3.) People of all ages are looking for something to do.
I was really surprised by how many young people attended the event.
What I hadn’t considered was that by holding the event close to the holidays, we caught the attention of college students home for the winter break with nothing else to do.
It was the perfect place to get out of the house and enjoy some wholesome fun with friends and neighors.
The dance floor was crowded all night with dancers of all ability and skill levels.
Things finally wound down around 11 p.m. and a group of high school and college students remained.
As we turned up the lights, they didn’t complain about the event coming to an end. In fact, they asked if they could help clean up.
When you build a community, people not only want to be part of the things going on in town, they want to contribute.
I was really proud of our community that night.
While holding events at Cook’s Main Stage is a business venture, it’s more than that. It’s an opportunity to build and strengthen our community.
We hadn’t planned on repeating the event right away, but the dance was such a hit, we were inundated with requests to hold it again.
If you’re looking for a fun place to hang out this Saturday night, come out to Cook’s Main Stage at 7 p.m (located behind Cook’s Mercantile in downtown Whitesboro).
Tickets are $10 cash at the door, and you’re welcome to BYOB. Bring cash for concessions and wear your dancing shoes.
Or just come ready to sit back and relax and enjoy some epic people watching.
Either way, your community will be there to welcome you.
