Sundance Stompede

San Francisco's LGBT+
Country-Western Dance Weekend
November 9–12, 2023

THANK YOU FOR COMING!

We are in the process of updating this page with post-event information.

last updated November 26

Photos & Videos
Documentary Update
Lost & Found

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Hoedown 2023 at the Regency Ballroom

Photos and Videos

We're in the process of posting photos and videos from the 2023 Sundance Stompede. So far we have:

  • Friday night photos from Bill Weaver
  • Saturday night photos from Bill Weaver
  • Exhibition videos from Saturday night 8-9 pm

Much more to come!

If YOU have high-quality photos or videos to add to our archive collection, contact us to arrange the best way to get them to us. Please do not compress or shrink the images. We are particularly interested in videos from the Friday night exhibitions, and photos and videos from times and locations other than the night-time dances.   

Stompede documentary stills

Stompede Documentary Update
Fundraising continues

The Stompede is over, the filming is completed, and director Graham Clayton-Chance has returned to the UK to begin the editing process. “It was everything I thought and more ... it's going to be very special.” Samples of stills from Casey Regan's gorgeous cinematography are shown above. We can't wait to see the results!

FUNDRAISING CONTINUES! We continue to set our goals ever higher. Funds beyond our initial targets will help obtain music rights to commercial songs, produce a higher-quality film, and get a head start on distribution to film festivals. Could we reach £20,000? It's up to us. Much like the Stompede itself, this documentary is a community effort. Small donations from many will go a long way towards preserving the legacy of the Stompede for all to see.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sundance-stompede
(£100 = US$125)

lost and found

Lost and Found

We have a hndful of items we picked up over the weekend. Check our lost and found page for photos and instructions for retrieval.

• large black Perry Ellis jacket
• large black Banana Republic T-shirt
• blue equality baseball cap 
• a rainbow cloth something - no idea what this is
• black and wood fan with case
• belt
• sunglasses
• reading glasses

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BELOW IS THE PRE-EVENT WEBPAGE

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Hoedown at the Regency Ballroom

4 Nights of Dancing

November 9, 2023 • Kick-Off Dance
Sundance Saloon, 550 Barneveld
November 10, 2023 • Welcome Dance
Holiday Inn, 1500 Van Ness
November 11, 2023 • HOEDOWN 2023
Regency Ballroom, 1300 Van Ness
November 12, 2023 • Stompede Ball
Sundance Saloon, 550 Barneveld

Windy City Cowboys 2013

Hoedown 2023

Saturday, Nov. 11 • 7:00 pm - 1:00 am
Regency Ballroom • 1300 Van Ness

The centerpiece event of the Sundance Stompede weekend! Annual gala CW dance benefit, with exhibition dance performances, two rooms of dancing, silent auction. 

Stompede Workshop

Dance Workshops

Friday • 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday • `9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Sunday • 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Golden Gateway Holiday Inn

Lessons in up to seven rooms simultaneously, for all levels from beginning to advanced.

San Francisco

And Much More!

Dance exhibition performances
VIP Welcome Social
Womens/Trans-inclusive Social
After-hours Parties
Boots Only Ball
... and more!

VIDEO:
Hoedown 2018

VIDEO:
Sundance Stompede 2022

VIDEO: INFOMERCIAL
Why You Should Come ...

STOMPEDE NEWS

Friday Welcome Dance

The Sundance Stompede!
November 9–12, 2023

We are looking forward to welcoming you to San Francisco for four nights of incredible dance parties, three days of equally amazing dance workshops for all skill levels, and much more! You do not want to miss this year's edition of the Sundance Stompede. While the Stompede is focused on serving the LGBT+ community, we welcome everyone (21+) with open arms, as long as you don't care who dances with whom.

Advance registration is officially closed. You can still register for the entire weekend on-site, or by logging into your Stompede account. Tickets for individual events  and day passes are available at the door. Advance tickets for the Saturday night Hoedown are available online until November 7.

Documentary Preview screenshot

Stompede Documentary
Help fund this important project!

A documentary about The Last Stompede is coming together! Graham Clayton-Chance, an internationally-known award-winning gay filmmaker from the United Kingdom, and production company xFilm, welcome to the team award-winning cinematographer Casey Regan. They are working together to preserve the final Stompede on film, with a focus on the community behind it and the impact the Stompede has had on our lives. There is already interest by the San Francisco Dance Film Festival to show this film next year!

We need donations! Graham is filming this documentary as a gift and not for profit. However, funds are still needed for basic expenses including equipment, production, editing, travel and distribution. We were hoping to raise £10,000 (US$12,500) or more by October 31, but we're only two-thirds of the way there. Please help with a donation in any amount. Many small donations of $10 to $20 will go a long way towards helping us reach this goal.

(£100 = US$125)

Dance workshop at the Stompede

Dance Workshops Update

You can look forward to three full days of daytime dance workshops for all levels, beginning to advanced, with a myriad of dance forms including two-step, waltz, east coast swing, night club two-step, west coast swing, and line dance. We're excited to present some great instructors new to this year's Sundance Stompede, along with many of your favorites returning from previous years.

  • View our  dance workshop schedule.
  • We have posted a list of line dances being taught at the Stompede this year, including step sheets, music, and videos.
  • Premium workshops are small-group classes for an additional fee. Advance sign-up is available for Stompede registrants. If you are not registered, you can sign up on-site with the purchase of a day pass.

Hoedown

Hoedown 2023
Saturday, November 11 • 7:00 pm - 1:00 am
Regency Ballroom • 1300 Van Ness Ave., S.F.
Advance tickets available now

The Saturday night Hoedown has been a major annual community fundraiser since 1997, now featuring two rooms of dancing and hundreds of the hottest cowfolks from all over.

We start with dance exhibition performances from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. Then it’s open dancing until closing, with an additional room dedicated to line dancing (9:00 pm - 12:30 am) with a special partner dance zone. Plus a silent auction with dozens of great items.

$50 in advance (until 11/7), $60 at the door, 21+ with ID. (You do not need a separate ticket if you are registered for the Stompede.)

Premium workshop at the Stompede

Premium Workshops
Open for sign-ups

Our regular offerings of workshops cover a wide range of topics for all levels to suit all of our attendees, but the classes tend to be quite large. Our Premium Workshops are designed to take you to another level in a more intimate setting: these workshops will be restricted to no more than sixteen dancers (typically eight leads and eight follows).

There is a nominal additional fee of $10 per workshop. You must also be registered for the Stompede weekend, or purchase a workshop day pass on-site. Stompede full weekend registrants can sign up in advance until Thursday at noon (PST).

Please note that for our regular workshops there is no additional fee if you are registered for the Stompede, and no advance reservations are necessary.

Stompede dancers

If You're Going ...
Information for attendees

We've started to compile a page of information for attendees. Topics include:

  • Pre-Stompede Ice Cream Social
  • Thursday Arrivals
  • Food Trucks at Sundance Saloon (Thu & Sun) 
  • Thursday After-Hours Party at Bell Tower
  • Friday Night Dance Theme
  • Friday and Saturday Night After-Hours Parties
  • Friday and Saturday Late-Night West Coast Swing
  • Dancing In San Francisco
  • Parking and Transportation
  • ... and much more!

Check back for updates.


Information for registrants

crowded dance floor at the Stompede

Crowd Control at the Stompede

We request all attendees to please read our information about crowd control at the Stompede. We ask of you:

  • your patience;
  • understand our dance floor customs;
  • no bags or coats in the main ballroom;
  • be thoughtful in areas with extremely limited seating;
  • and more!

We also outline what we are doing to help, along with some advice for not feeling isolated among all the people.

food truck

Food, Glorious Food!

For early arrivals we have a dessert social on Wednesday evening in Ghirardelli Square. We'll have food trucks at Sundance Saloon on Thursday and Sunday evenings. And our Thursday after-hours party will be hosted at a nearby bar/restaurant.

Pre-Stompede Dessert Social. Wednesday, 8:00 - 9:30 pm at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience, Ghirardelli Square.

Sundance Saloon Food Trucks. Food trucks will be serving at Sundance Saloon on Thursday 6:30 - 8:30 pm (cheesesteak) and Sunday 5:00 - 8:00 pm (Mexican).

Thursday After-Hours Party. Thursday, 11:00 pm - 2:00 am at Bell Tower bar & restaurant, 1900 Polk St @ Jackson. The kitchen is open until midnight.

MUNI streetcar

Parking and Transportation

We've posted lots of information about parking and transportation, including how to get to the hotel from the airport by BART, and how to get from the hotel to the Castro by MUNI.

Parking in the hotel garage is $30 per night for guests staying at the hotel, with in-and-out privileges. Non-guests may park for 5 hours for $20 with validation. Validate at the Stompede registration desk or Hoedown entry.

We have shuttle buses running between the hotel and Sundance Saloon on Thursday and Sunday nights.

NOTE: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will be in San Francisco starting November 11. President Biden will attend along with other world leaders, and there will be security zones causing major disruptions to traffic downtown and on Nob Hill starting November 14. Other types of disruptions will likely occur earlier.

Stompede volunteers - photo by Tim Wong

Volunteers Needed

We can't do this without you!

The Sundance Stompede is truly a group effort; one that is built by the community for the community. It requires an army of volunteers, and we'd love to have your help! Volunteering is FUN and gives you the satisfaction of helping to create this magical weekend.

As of November 6 we have a particular need for:

  • Thursday Sundance Saloon tear-down;
  • Sunday afternoon hotel tear-down;
  • Sunday evening Sundance Saloon set-up and tear-down
  • Monday morning load-out.

Additional miscellaneous shifts are available throughout the weekend, especially with the inevitable cancellations we expect through the week.

Sundance Stompede dancers

Beneficiaries

The Sundance Stompede is at its heart a fundraising event, and 100% of net proceeds go to its beneficiaries. This year we are proud to support four organizations:

  • National Center for Lesbian Rights – Advances the civil and human rights of LGBT people through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
  • Trans Lifeline – A grassroots hotline and microgrants organization offering emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis, run by and for trans people.
  • PRC – provides integrated legal, social, and health services for over 5,000 clients per year affected by HIV/AIDS, substance use, or mental health issues.
  • The Sundance Association – provides country-western dancing for the LGBT+ community, with the goal of creating an inclusive and welcoming community.
Happy Trails

The Final Stompede

It is with heavy hearts that we share with you the news that this year's Sundance Stompede will be the last, at least in its current form. Starting with the first Saturday night Hoedown benefit event in 1997, it's been an incredible journey. We're so proud of all that the Stompede has achieved, and to all of you who helped us create this exceptionally wonderful global community.

We invite everyone to make a special effort to join us this year, so we can all celebrate and dance with our Stompede community one more time. Together we'll make this the grandest and most memorable Stompede ever.

STOMPEDE NEWS ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

October 31, 2023
October 19, 2023 (for registrants)
October 11, 2023
September 27, 2023
August 30, 2023
July 24, 2023
June 9, 2023
April 4, 2023
January 28, 2023

Sign up for the Stompede News.


FastDance Association  FastDance Association