Last updated 12/13/2023

Unlock the front door and turn on all lights on the way in, including the outdoor front light. Bring in the tub and sound equipment.

Adjust the thermostat as soon as you get in, to give the system time to heat or cool the room.
In hot weather, on the thermostat: set COOL mode, temperature to 68.
In cool weather, on the thermostat: set HEAT mode, temperature to 68.

If the windows are closed, then in cool weather, after 1 to 3 dances, you will probably need to change it from HEAT to COOL, with temperature set to 68. If so, remember to change it back to AUTO or heat at the end.

In warmer weather when it's muggy, it may help to set the fan to ON to keep air moving. If so, change the fan back to AUTO at the end.

Leave 1 rectangular plastic table up, on the street side near the door to the stairs. If any other rectangular plastic tables are set up, fold them up and lean them on the wall up by the stage, on the right. There is 1 heavier wooden rectangular table, which is normally leaned on the wall at the back of the stage, to the right, in back of where the piano is stored. If it is out on the dance floor, I suggest putting it away. If any of the 8 round tables are set up, put them away on the rolling table rack out on the stairway landing. There should be chairs set up all along the left side wall - set them up if not. If there are chairs set up elsewhere on the dance floor, put them away.

Set up the cash box. Put in the $50 in seed (kitty) money, which should be in an envelope under the plastic tray in the cash box.

There is also an “extra” change envelope in the cash box in case you run out of $10s, $5s, or $1s, but be sure to put in as many $ as you take out, because that extra is Will Strang's money, not FSGW's.

Help people pay and make change if they need help, otherwise it's fine if they make their own change. If someone needs a loan to pay, you can make a loan from your wallet if you are willing, but absolutely do NOT short the cash box.

Put out the admission price display, stick-on name tags, and markers to fill out name tags.

Get out the iPad to use for check-in and registration, and the Square reader to use for credit card payments. Instructions for using that to check-in, register, and take payment are:
Users guide for Event Check-in iPad 2023-05-10.pdf

You can let people pay cash on their own, self service, but be alert for anyone needing help paying. And remember to register them and mark them as checked in.

Mount the plastic sign on the suggestion box, and put it on the table, at the back by the window ledge. The suggestion box key is in the cash box tray, although we don't normally lock the box, therefore don't normally use that key. It needs to be unlocked to mount/unmount the plastic sign.

Hang the dance list pad up to the left of the caller-side (left) stage steps, with a black marker. There is a hook on the pegboard wall in a good place for this (do NOT take that hook down).

DO NOT Hang the red no-parking-in-front sign at the middle or bottom of stairs, or hang any such signs out near the street. - Then town clerk Nancy Long told us to stop doing that, back in the fall of 2016.

There are no longer blue business-card sized “good for 1 free admission” cards in the cash box, but you might receive one of those from Bill Gawne or Laura Seidel for admission. If so, have then write their name and date on the back, and registrar them as “Free dance card”. Those are given out to Bill for volunteering at the Friday Night Contra Dance, by agreement between Friday Night Dancers and FSGW.

If someone arrives who seems possibly brand new to our dance (even if not new to ECD or FSGW), ask them about that, and if yes, registrar them as “First time free” at no cost.

Someone needs to move the piano away from the wall to where the pianist wants it. Starting in Fall 2023, the piano is now normally positioned projecting out from the middle of the back wall, so that the pianist faces either stage right (towards the caller) or stage left.

Get the sound gear out and set it up. There are setup instructions with pictures in the black sound bag.

If you have time, and no one else has done this (hint, hint), put out the current flyers, and put the 2 “helping” flyers on the stage.

This list does not include the fans, and those are NOT your job. During cold weather when the windows are open, it can help to close the door from the stairway into the meeting room, which otherwise admits a cold draft.

This list does not include the snack and water, and those are currently on hiatus due to Covid. Those are NOT your job. Note that there is a half-page handout on doing snack, a supply of which is in a photo-mailer envelope labelled “ECD Snack Guidance” in the bin. Those can be given to snack people.

You can usually start dancing after 1 dance, or even at the first dance if no one needs special attention.

Keep track of the total number of dancers who come, by counting them occasionally, such as when they are lined up and the caller is teaching. Note that people leave at or even before the break, and sometimes people arrive after the break, so the total number of dancers who attend may not all be there at the same time.

Count the number of dancers present for the first dance after the break, including those not dancing, and record that on the door sheet.

Fill out the 4 performer checks before the end, except the dollar amounts. At the last dance of each month, fill out the rent check for the following month, put it in an envelope with “FSGW ECD rent for <month> <year>” written on it, and slip that under the right hand town office door downstairs.

Do the pay computation, near the end of dancing:

Take the $50 seed back out first, ideally 9 $5's and 5 $1's, but $50 in any case, and put it in the envelope labelled for it, under the plastic tray.

Count the Total income again.

The door sheet provides a detailed step-by-step guide to computing payments, so not repeating that here.

Remember to pay Ralph Gordon an extra $5, above the $50 to $60 performer payment, for travel.

On the door sheet, fill in everything: the date, door people, attendee counts, total income, payment computations, caller, musicians, check amounts and check numbers.

At the end, finish and hand out the performer checks.

Wrap the income (cash and any checks) up in the door sheet. If no one is pre-arranged to take it to report and deposit, then put it in the checkbook bag, and someone will do that later on. Also pack the checkbook, iPad, Square reader, and clipboard with blank door sheets into the blue checkbook bag.

Put the flyers away in their plastic box, along with the name tags, suggestion box sign, snack schedule and guidance, and admission price display.

Pack up the flyers box, suggestion box, checkbook bag, and cash box in the tub. The dance list pad goes on the very top, with the cash box and then the flyers box under it.

Put away the sound gear in its 2 bags. Be sure to take the batteries OUT of the microphone.

Make sure the piano gets moved back where it is stored, against the back wall of the stage, keyboard facing out, far enough to the right that it does not block any of the movie screen.

On the thermostat: Set the mode to AUTO, COOL temp to 78, HEAT temp to 65, and make sure the fan set is set to AUTO.

Clean any crumbs off floor, especially in front and back of kitchen counter, and in front of chairs. Even if someone sweeps the floor, there WILL be walked on crumbs somewhere.

Make sure all windows are closed & locked, including in the 3 bathrooms.

Make SURE the fire stairs door is locked. If allowed to just swing closed, it might not lock.

Make sure all lights are off, including all 3 bathrooms and the outside front door light.

Lock the front door on the way out (make SURE).