July 1, 2005

People, great music, good food and lots of Dancin’ on the Avenue

By Carol Rosen
Editor

It was one of those perfect nights. The air was cool, but not too cool, the rain never came and lots and lots of people were on and around Lincoln Avenue, listening and dancing to some great music.

Paige Weldon, who turns 2 years old this month, spent a lot of time dancing to the Heartbeats on the Washington Mutual Stage by the Grapevine.

Each year Dancin’ on the Avenue seems to get larger. This year was the biggest yet, with four great bands, a Kids’ Court and some great food. There was little room to walk and the dancers were out in force, rockin’ to the music.

Joe Sharino’s Band performed at the Peak Travel Stage at the Stevens Building parking lot. It was hard to get in close to get pictures of the band. Even standing up on a traffic sawhorse, it was difficult to see the band. Sharino has played for Dancin’ on the Avenue for at least 16 years. You could see how popular the band is just by the size of the crowd.

Not that the other bands were lacking an audience. NuDay performed at the Countrywide Stage at Brace and Lincoln. Dancers had carved out an area directly in front of the band. But nearly everyone who wasn’t actually dancing with a partner was still tapping their feet or someway moving to the beat.

A large crowd also was dancing to the Heartbeats and to Daddy-O at the Washington Mutual stage right on Lincoln Avenue near the Grapevine. Not only were there lots of dancers, but a number of people were standing or sitting tapping to the beat. The Garage Band also drew a large number of dancers and music lovers. They played on the Coamerica Stage located near Jamba Juice.

Earlier in the evening, the Windemere Community stage hosted a number of dancers. First on was the Dance Theatre International performing ballet. The Ester Dance team doing jazz followed them. Center Stage, a jazz showcase, was the next group on the stage followed by Charsette. The East/West Dance Studio took over the stage at 7 p.m. and was followed by the Salsa Group Performance Competition.

The Kids’ Court was new this year. Located in the Wells Fargo parking lot, the court was packed with things for children. Sherry McGuire and Mike Mitchell held a fund-raiser for Booksin School’s ESL program, taking in nearly $325 with four different carnival-type games, which they matched. There was also face painting and other fun things for children. The court also featured a baby diaper-changing station.

It was a really fun evening and no one wanted to leave, but everyone agreed to meet next year on Lincoln Avenue to go dancing.

You could hardly see the Joe Sharino Band through all the people that were dancing and listening. But you could still hear them playing as long as you were near the Peak Travel Stage. It wouldn’t be Dancin’ on the Avenue without the Joe Sharino band.

(left) As the sun moved further toward the West, the youngsters grew tired and also found it hard to walk among the crowds. Samantha Lykins got a great seat on her father’s shoulders. The Lykins live in Willow Glen and 5-year-old Samantha is a kindergartner at St. Frances Cabrini School.