FREE FOOT-Loose Dances Return to Olin Park Pavilion for 2026

Change of tune!  Looks like we'll have a little more time to enjoy the wonderful dance floor in historic Normal Hall (the building we've incorrectly been calling the Olin Park Pavilion). Madison's Parks Division has delayed its renovations projects for a while, so we now can have a spring FOOT-Loose Dance Series.

So join us every Wednesday this May for two hours of dancing fun, from 6 to 8 PM, in historic Normal Hall. Each dance session will include instruction suitable to all levels - from beginners to advanced. The instruction will be followed by an open dance period for all to enjoy, either as a participant or just an observer. Each dance group provides musical accompaniment - often live! And the dances go on rain or shine, since we'll be inside. 

Here's the line-up for this May:

• Wednesday, May 6th:  Madison Irish Set Dance - Beginner-friendly dancing in groups of eight

• Wednesday, May 13th:  Madison Tango Society  makes this sensual Argentinian dance form easily accessible to beginners and experienced dancers alike.

• Wednesday, May 20th:   Dairyland Cowboys &  Cowgirls get their boots on and scoot their way across the pavilion dance floor in fun-to-join line dancing

•  Wednesday, May 27th:  Madison Contra Coop - easy-to-learn traditional American folk dancing

So get your dancing shoes on and join FOOT this spring for an fun evening (or two or more) of free dance instruction and dancing at Normal Hall (Olin Park Pavilion).  Hope to see you there! 

2026 Spring FOOT-Notes

Olin Pavilion (Normal Hall) CLOSED for 2026

Madison Parks Division has informed FOOT that the Olin Park Pavilion will be unavailable for all of 2026 due to necessary correction and repair of moisture issues in the crawl space below the pavilion floor.

Thus, our spring Concert Series and fall FOOT-Loose Dance Series will not be available in 2026. We hope that both free series will be able to return to the Olin Park Pavilion in 2027, and we’ll keep you posted!

Activities we DO have planned for 2026:

April 25:  Earth Day (time TBD)

We’re looking for volunteers to help us clean the parks’ shoreline on Earth Day. Also, if young oaks are identifiable, we’d like to stake some in Turville so they don’t get cut by future brush-cutting activities. Let us know if you’re interested in volunteering that Saturday.

June 7:  Gratitude in Nature (9am-12pm)

Join us on this summer Sunday for a free outdoor yoga session, a visit with the goats who will be chomping down brush in Turville  Point Conservation Park, and clearing invasives while reseeding with native plant ‘seed balls.’  Since the yoga sessions will have limited slots, you will need to sign up at the Parks Division website.

August 9:  Ride the Drive (10am-2pm)

Join thousands of Madison cyclists who have made Ride the Drive one of our city’s biggest summer events. This year’s route hasn’t been set yet, so we can’t tell you where to look for the FOOT tent (and our free FOOT-Cookies), but we’ll keep you posted as planning proceeds. For last year’s event, which got cancelled due to bad weather, FOOT had a band lined up to play. Hopefully we can do the same this year!

And More…

With the loss of the pavilion this year, were exploring other options for FOOT activities in the parks, and we would like your input!  Some ideas we have are a nature-themed family movie event, an acorn harvest, and constructing goat-proof cages around new oak trees (see photo).

Please let us know if any of these activities interest you, and what other activities you’d like to see us plan for in 2026. We’ll try our best keep things interesting and engaging in our two wonderful parks!