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) to remain open for 2026

Madison Parks Division initially informed FOOT that Normal Hall (the Olin Park Pavilion) would not be available for all of 2026 due to necessary correction of moisture issues in the crawl space below the pavilion floor. Those repairs have now been postponed to 2027, so we have one more season to enjoy the wooden dance floor in Normal Hall (the building we've long been referring to incorrectly as the Olin Park Pavilion).

So in addition to the events below, we will hold a spring FOOT-Loose Dance Series (see above) and are working on a fall concert series for the last three Thursdays in September. Stay tuned! 

Other activities we have planned for 2026:

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 likley loss of Normal Hall use in 2027, 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 2027. We’ll try our best keep things interesting and engaging in our two wonderful parks!