The Guide to IAGSDC Convention Chapter 4
Who's in charge of this thing, anyway?
The first IAGSDC® convention was held in Seattle in 1984. Since then, host cities have included Denver, San Francisco, Portland OR, Phoenix, New York, Miami, Vancouver BC, Albuquerque, Seattle (again), Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco (again), Las Vegas, Portland (again), Los Angeles, Baltimore, Vancouver (again), Toronto, San Diego, and Phoenix (again).
Each Convention has a year, a city, and an official name. For example, as of this writing, some recent and upcoming Conventions include:
- 2005: "Star Thru The Silicon Galaxy" in Santa Clara, California
- 2006: "Wish Upon A Thar" in Anaheim, California
- 2007: "Red Rocks and Purple Mountains" in Denver, Colorado
- 2008: "Touch A Quarter Century" in Cleveland, Ohio
- 2009: "DC Diamond Circulate" in Washington, DC
- 2010: "Chi-Town Shakedown" in Chicago, Illinois
- 2011: "Gone With The Windmill" in Atlanta, Georgia
- 2012: "Dance Up A Storm" in Vancouver, British Columbia
- 2013: "Weave Your Heart in San Francisco" in San Francisco, California
- 2014: "Squeeze the Hive" in Salt Lake City, Utah
- 2015: "Swing Me in St. Louis" in St. Louis, Missouri
- 2016: "Maple Leafs Regroup" in Toronto, Ontario
- 2017: "Palm Springs Swing & Mix 2017" in Palm Springs, California
- 2018: "Circle Back to Seattle" in Seattle, Washington
- 2019: "Belles Run Philadelphia 2019" in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2020: "Take A Peak" in Denver, Colorado (Virtual due to COVID-19)
- 2021: "Houston, We Have A Promenade" in Houston, Texas (Virtual due to COVID-19)
- 2022ː "Twin City Spin" in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 2023ː "Follow Your Northern Neighbour" in Ottawa, Ontario
- 2024ː "Carolina Twirl" in Durham, North Carolina
Note: Click here for a list of all IAGSDC conventions.
Convention attendance runs anywhere from 800 to 1,200 dancers, friends, family members, and partners.
IAGSDC® Conventions are staged by individual square dance clubs, or by groups of clubs, in a given geographic area.
In general, Convention is held over a holiday weekend such as 4th of July or Memorial Day. This is a tradition rather than a hard-and-fast rule. Some years, Convention has been held on a totally different date, such as Easter weekend. This is usually done to minimize hotel costs. (For example, downtown hotels in some cities cost more during 4th of July weekend due to heavy bookings for local events.)
Each year, the IAGSDC® allows clubs to "bid" for conventions to be held in their local cities. A convention committee reviews each year's bids. After a few years of bidding and presentations, the IAGSDC® Convention Committee accepts one of the bids presented. Generally speaking, the IAGSDC® approves bids four years in advance.
(Back to the Guide To IAGSDC Convention Table of Contents.) (Back to Guide Chapters 1-3.) (Forward to Guide Chapter 5.)