MIDWEST CLOGGERS RETURN TO NKY FOR ANNUAL CLOGGING WORKSHOP

Contact: Fonda Hill
(859) 760-8497 (m)

MIDWEST CLOGGERS RETURN TO NKY FOR ANNUAL CLOGGING WORKSHOP

Fort Mitchell, KY/November 14, 2007—The end of leaf raking season, professional football on Thursday afternoon and the Midwest Cloggers invading the Drawbridge Inn in Fort Mitchell—it must be Thanksgiving weekend.

More than 200 cloggers from as far away as Canada, Tennessee and Minnesota will attend the Midwest Clogging Workshop November 22-24 at the hotel. This is the 13th straight year the Drawbridge has hosted the cloggers.

This energetic form of dance draws its inspiration from Irish, Scotch and English immigrants who created it two centuries ago in the Appalachian Mountains. Dancers move to a lively bluegrass tune, mixed in with foot stomping and hand clapping.

Event organizer Fonda Hill who teaches two instructional sessions weekly throughout the year in Ludlow and Dry Ridge says she has noticed a renewed interest in the hobby, averaging 30 people at each session.

"Two things have sparked the added interest. We have started evening classes with international students at Northern Kentucky University. Interestingly enough, many are Japanese. And with the onset of television reality shows such as Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, with many of the contestants being clogger, has had an impact as well.

"We don't necessarily have more students than we used to," added Hill. "But we have a newer following of fans. I would say the average age is the mid 30s, and once they get involved they keep coming for months and even years."

The public is invited to attend dances each night at 8 p.m. with general admission $5 each night. For more information, call 859-760-8497.

The mission of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is that of an aggressive sales, marketing, service and informational organization whose primary responsibility is to positively impact the Northern Kentucky economy through conventions, meetings and visitor expenditures. The direct economic impact of visitors' spending in Campbell, Kenton and Boone Counties in 2006 was $263 million.