Family Program: Square Dancing

Clyde 'Bubba' Richardson leads a square dancing workshop at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday, October 10, from 11 AM to noon. Richardson comes from the Grand Ole Opry Square Dancers, and the session is built around two things: the actual steps and the historical calls that drive the dance. You don't need any prior dance experience to join in, and all ages are welcome, so it works as a family outing as much as a solo thing.

The workshop takes place in the Taylor Swift Education Center, located inside the museum at 222 Rep. John Lewis Way S in downtown Nashville. The museum itself is a heavy hitter in the city—chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it first opened on Music Row in 1967 before moving to its current downtown home in 2001. A $100 million expansion in 2014 brought the building to 350,000 square feet. It also owns and operates the 140-year-old Hatch Show Print letterpress business and the historic RCA Studio B, which opened in 1957 and remains the oldest surviving recording studio in Nashville.

As for the workshop, the museum's invitation is simple: dust off your cowboy boots and come learn the steps and historical calls of square dancing. Since no prior experience is required and all ages are welcome, it's a low-stakes way to get a feel for a tradition that's deeply rooted in the music the museum preserves. Admission is included with museum entry, and it's free for Museum members. There's also free youth admission for Tennessee children ages 18 and under from Cheatham, Davidson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties, with up to two accompanying adults getting 25% off—just bring proof of residency. The session runs from 11 AM to noon on Saturday, October 10.