Many people across the country have commentedt how stressed they were feeling about this year’s election. Irratable, grouchy, impatient people going to work, living with family, trying to cope. But Erik Jacobs came up with a plan to hold a potluck dinner and square dance on election night, at Townshend Town Hall, where the voting was happening.
The Idea
Jacobs said he had not been to a square dance in at least 20 years. However, the idea of facing one’s neighbor and taking a hand regardless of how that person voted made a lot of sense while everyone waited for election results to come in.
Jacobs said.
When you’re square dancing you’re forced to dance with everybody in the room, and that’s kind of what this is about, right. It’s about knowing your neighbor and being with your neighbor regardless of how they voted [1].
As far as anyone can remember, this is the first time a square dance was held on election night.
Where Was This?
Down on the first floor of Town Hall in Townshend, VT, Town Clerk Ellenka Wilson said it was very busy, probably near a record turnout, like most of the country.
Vermont has strict rules about polling places, concerning where people can stand and how information can be shared at the polls. But Wilson sais that she fully supported the idea of having a live band and more than 100 people dancing on the floor above her office while running an election.
Result?
Residents participated in the potluck and ancing. This distracted many to stay off their phones until results would come in much later that night. Residents said that they did not discuss politics. They just came for food, fellowship, and fun.
Notes:
- ^ {Before election results came in, this Vermont town brought voters together to dance} (go back ↩)
