Western swing music enthusiasts make a stop in Cape Girardeau

Couples from around the country will be twirling their way across the dance floor this weekend at Cape Girardeau VFW Post 3838.

The seventh annual Showcase and Dance, presented by the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest, is being held from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today and Saturday.

Bands, including the two society bands, will play throughout the event. Between bands attendees can participate in cake walks and get door prizes. The cost to attend is $5 for society and VFW members and $10 for all nonmembers.

Bob Dolle, charter member and director for the Missouri organization of the society, said Cape Girardeau is one of five showcases the society holds every year. Last year's showcase had people from 13 states represented, including Maryland, New Mexico and Arizona.

Because the group is a not-for-profit organization, all of the proceeds go toward scholarships to individuals who are able to play or sing western swing, which primarily blends the sounds of big bands and country/western styles.

"They have to be in the western swing mode," he said.

The Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest offers about 10 scholarships a year, usually $300 each, to individuals of all ages, he said.

Bob Cobb, founding member and vice president of the society, said he along with four others came together sharing a love for western swing music to form the organization. They received their charter in September 1998.

"I've always loved western swing music, and when the TV and the rock 'n' rollers came in, it threw us for a loop -- but we wouldn't give up," he said.

The society has about 1,400 members, making it the world's largest western swing society. The society has members in all 50 states and in other countries, including Canada, England, Germany, Slovenia and Austria, Cobb said.

Members pay a yearly fee, and newsletters are sent throughout the year to inform members of the goings on with western swing around the country.

Dolle said the purpose of the society is to preserve and promote western swing music.

"It's something you grew up with and would hate to see it leave," he said.

Ethel and John Thornbrue, members of the society, traveled from West Covina, Okla., for the event. The two, who had been widowed, first met at the Cape Girardeau Showcase and Dance two years ago. After marrying, they continued traveling to the events and dance up to five to six times a week for two to three hours.

"We don't just go for an hour -- we go until we're exhausted from dancing," Ethel Thornbrue said.

They said the fellowship, camaraderie and dancing is what they love most about the society.

"It's like a senior prom every night," she said.

"It keeps us young at heart," John Thornbrue said.

Pertinent address:

1049 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO