Catching on

We're getting over 100 people each Saturday, even on a 'quiet weekend', that is, one without any visiting DJs, bands or instructors. We have a guest instructor from Buenos Aires next week, Alicia Pons, and I can't imagine how many people will be here ... 200?

The Shoe Center is kicked off -- Jeff the shoemaking scientist-craftsman started to take everyone's foot impressions & measurements at Saturday's milonga, and will be doing the same over the next month or so, as he determines the base lasts that he'd like to create for instigating our local Tango shoemaking workshop. The notion is that people will be able to come here and start on the process of getting the perfect custom dance shoe made -- this takes several mockup iterations to do correctly. We're trying to make inroads into the way people buy shoes. Buying local shoes, made-to-order, supports local craftspeople, and results in a better shoe for the wearer. It happens that the oldest shoes in the world are sitting in a museum in Eugene ... of course the modern running shoe was also invented here. So we're on fertile ground. Whenever you start a non-profit project, you want to build upon local strengths ...