“We’re expecting dancers from not only Pennsylvania but from all of the surrounding states too: West Virginia, Delaware, Ohio, New York and the Washington, D.C., area,” said Steve Koehle of Altoona, festival director and a member of the Swinging Squares of Altoona.

Koehle and his wife, Karen, who regularly travel to square dance events, said Wednesday that they started talking in 2024 about planning a festival in Altoona on behalf of the Pennsylvania Square and Round Dance Federation.

The federation generally hosts festivals every other year, with locations depending on someone stepping up and volunteering to take on the leadership, Koehle said.

After attending festivals in 2022 in Gettysburg and 2024 in Camp Hill, Koehle said he and his wife offered their commitment.

Ed Clever of Altoona and Anna Lauffer of Duncansville take part in a preview dance. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“We were at a point where we were ready to take on the responsibility of bringing the event to Altoona,” he said. “We have nice hotels here, a beautiful convention center and places to eat.”

For a glimpse of what’s to come during the Pennsylvania Fabulous Fall Festival, a preview dance was held Thursday night at the convention center, hosted by the Swinging Squares of Altoona.

It was a chance for local dancers, Koehle said, to see the convention center where some of them have never been.

It was also a chance to get local dancers registered early for the Oct. 1-3 event.

Convention Center Director Tom Schilling said Wednesday that the three-day square dance event will occupy the facility’s upper-level ballrooms.

Groups of square dancers take part in a preview dance at the Blair County Convention Center on Thursday evening. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Plans call for portable wooden dance flooring to be brought into Altoona and assembled at the convention center by delivery personnel.

“The biggest challenge is the dance floor,” Koehle said. “They are four-foot squares and they have to be screwed together.”

Schilling said he expects the event will go well, with visitors staying as many as three or four nights. Room blocks are already reserved at nearby hotels, he said.

The event’s website, PaFabFallFest.com, also mentions the availability of local campgrounds for the visitors.

Koehle said he’s pleased with how the plans for the festival have come together, including the line-up of callers and cuers with international and national experience, including Amy and Ken Shotting of Maryland, Randy and Marie Preskitt of Lynnwood, Wash., Tom Denniston and Ellen McCabe of Oxford, Pa., Bill Harrison of Maryland, Eric Hennerlau of California, Mark Franks of New Jersey and Jet Roberts of Alabama.

“All the contracts are in place so we’re going to be hosting some of the best in the country,” Koehle said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.