I kicked off my 2018 Taurus season shenanigans and celebrations in Dearborn, Michigan at Jeffrey Clark’s I Love Steppin’ 10th Anniversary event. The next weekend I coasted off to Dallas, Texas to the fourth Annual Black and Bling Steppers Ball Weekend. It was a magnificent start to my birthday business. After a great time in both cities, I determined both events should stay on Sonji’s Steppin’ Birthday Tour for next year. At the announcement of the Black & Bling fire sale, I learned that I Love Steppin’ 11th Anniversary and the fifth Annual Black and Bling are scheduled for the same dates – April 25-28, 2019. I approached Devin Smith about the conflict and our conversation ended with “Next year, steppers are just going to have to make a choice.”
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I have encountered event weekend date conflicts before. As I visit more new cities, I have to make more decisions like this. I really enjoyed I Love Steppin’ and Black and Bling, and they were different. Which do I choose? How many of my stepper compadres will I miss seeing regardless of which event I choose to go to next year? Will the events cannibalize each other, splitting the crowd, especially steppers from Chicago who showed up and showed out in big numbers at both events for 2018? I consider my five primary goals for any given steppers’ weekend event.
| #1 To step and stay active all weekend | |
| I Love Steppin' I arrived late Friday night, but stayed on the dance floor. The Saturday day party and Sunday brunch at Firewater were magnificent. I had enough time to relax, refresh and shop! Swell done! I danced in different places and Firewater is one of my favorite spots! | Black N Bling The day party, the picnic, the night events were enjoyable every night. I heard Friday was the best night and I missed it all. I danced all Saturday with new people with enough of a break to relax and rejuvenate. After a long stint on concrete in the park my knees needed rest. |
| #2 Listen to an eclectic selection of good music, old and new. | |
| I Love Steppin' DJ Butta, DJ Black Cool and DJ Shorty Smooth all put it down. I was really looking forward to hearing DJ Butta since I don't hear her that often. Shorty Smooth was a riot as always with his unique mixes and humorous MC'ing. DJ Black Cool played some songs I didn't know. Thank you! | Black N Bling Pony Mack, what were you drinking? Give that man another drink! He was my musical highlight for the weekend at the day party and picnic - "hands down." I missed Myron on Friday and DJ MellowKhris kept it mellow a good part of Saturday. I got a little of everything from the weekend. I loved the musical experience! |
| #3 Be comfortable and feel welcomed | |
| I Love Steppin' Jeff was the first person I saw. He greeted me in the lobby and escorted me to registration. -I caught a photo opp with Jeff on the weekend at the Sunday brunch -At LePetit Jeuner, Jeff made himself host and seated me when the host was unavailable. -Jeff's personalized welcome badge on Facebook before the event for guests was a special touch! I dub Jeffrey Clark "The Host with the Most." -I appreciated no formal dress code and a "no frills" flair to the weekend. -I got one of the best seats at Renee Ragland's table next to the DJ at the edge of the dance floor. | Black N Bling MC's Andre Blackwell and Pete Frazier greeted me warmly with hugs despite my very late arrival on Friday night. -I eventually introduced myself to Devin on Saturday after cruising by him and Tommy several times. He was friendly and indulged all of my questions. Thank you! -I saw Devin's Facebook posts welcoming Chicago "heavy hitters" Tim Alexander, Nike and others. An anonymous friend said to me "I bought one of the first tickets in the fire sale, can I get a plug too that I'll be there?" -I didn't mind two main event nights with stepper sharp attire, all white then all black. Simple, easy and I love fancy clothes! -I still marvel at a reserved table guest who had a problem when I sat briefly to retrieve my bag from under their table. Tomfoolery! |
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| #4 Reconnect with old friends and meet new people | |
| I Love Steppin' After two declines when I asked Detroit men to dance, I quit asking the local crowd for the rest of the weekend. Milwaukee, Ohio and Chicago steppers took over my days and nights on the dance floor. I think you all are helping me get ready for the stage. Thank you!! Y'all took over Dearborn-Detroit and gave me happy feet all weekend long! A few new blog readers introduced themselves to me and shared ideas and opinions on the blog. Saweeet! | Black N Bling I met many of my Facebook friends and many from Texas showed me lots o' love. I was looking for and didn't see Geno Spears until Sunday at the BH Lounge set. What a photo frenzy! It was a paparazzi weekend. I don't think I've ever taken that many photos at any event. Everyone was beautiful and "clean!" I reconnected with many from Chicago and from cities in Ohio and met more new folks from California and Louisiana. |
| #5 Don’t go home broke | |
| I Love Steppin' Accommodations were very reasonable. I did not stay at the host hotel. Nothing beats $20 or less per entry at the door at all events for the weekend; The brunch on Sunday was more than I expected. What an ample spread! What a variety! Thank you Sherry Gordon and team. The roundtrip airfare averages $500 traveling from Virginia. On these birthday trips I'll spend a little extra and still had some in my budget to shop for an outfit or two. | Black N Bling Accommodations were very reasonable. It took a lot of coaxing from at least 3 friends going to pay $90 for a weekend pass for an event less than 5 years in. There were free adult beverages offered. I hardly ever drink on event weekends. At least twice the free fried chicken with rolls arrived just in time to feed the need. The roundtrip airfare averages $500 traveling from Virginia also. I didn't spend much money on food. Thank you! |
I haven’t made any decision. I have an entire year to ponder on this one. The message here is that promoters and planners give steppers a lot of choices to make and all things considered, possibly at the expense of the success of an event. Unfortunately, I don’t see the market changing soon to make this less of a problem. If anything, I see more and more opportunities for all steppers to “have to make a choice.” I meet more and more new steppers that travel “everywhere” and you better believe that now steppers look to leave their home coast to meet new people. Well, I do! There isn’t too much weight on relying on events being miles apart on different coasts to say setting conflicting dates doesn’t matter due to the distance apart. I know planning is real “work” so we ought to work together to make your efforts a great experience for you and steppers coming together to have a good time.
