This year, the families of Fossil Bay School welcome you to bring friends and whanau along for an extra special winter fundraiser, In ode to missing out last year, this year’s Full Moon Barn Dance ~ promises twice the fun...

Hosted in the central Waiheke suburb of Ostend, at the community hall best loved for our islands famous Saturday market, This 2021 fundraising event is set to be a heartwarming night of foot stomping fun and laughter all cheerfully under August’s Full Moon.

Let’s Come Together. Dance! Sing! Chat! Eat! Drink! and Be Merry!

On offer will be beautiful winter fare as only the Steiner community can bring. Nourishing tasty food by Turkish Mezze and Lasagne by La Dolce Vita and our famous mulled wine, hot toddies & handmade chai.

We'll also be serving wines by Yealands, and locally brewed beer as well as tea, coffee and home made cakes. One can purchase from the cafe all whilst we enjoy live traditional folk music, and Cèilidh (pron kay-lee) dance.

On long, dark winter nights it is still the custom in small villages for friends to collect in a house and hold what they call a "ceilidh" (pronounced kay'lee). Young and old are entertained by the reciters of old poems and legendary stories which deal with ancient beliefs, They dance to songs played and sung and so on...

The Fossil Bay Full Moon Barn Dance opens at 5pm with mind to those attending who have very young children and the night continues through until 10:30pm with fire spinning outside under the Moon to celebrate the season.

At 6:30 we welcome to the stage an impressive group of professional local musicians who form "The Fossil Bay Barn Dance Bush Band" - These merry men and women will be playing traditional Gaelic/Celtic folk songs alongside our caller mr Noel Armstrong, who is coming from the mainland to encourage us all through the steps!

Traditional Gaelic Cèilidh music will be provided by an assortment of instruments across two sets The first at 6:30, and the second at 8:30pm. The music is cheerful and lively, consisting mainly of jigs, reels, polkas, slip-jigs and waltzes. The basic steps can be learned easily; fun encouraging instructions shall be called!

Dancing in the form of cèilidh dances, usually finds facing couples exchanging partners, while all the time keeping in step with the beat of the music, sometimes the dances move in a circle. Some of the dances are named after famous battles and events, others after items of daily rural life. The "Gay gordon's", "Siege of Ennis", "The Walls of Limerick" and "The Stack of Barley" are popular dances in this genre.

We’ll be bringing a big happy Waiheke twist to this traditional form of winter celebration, in the spirit of inclusivity and a diverse community spirit, we look forward to seeing you there!