Chicagoland West ECD

English country dancing and international folk dancing are held in the western suburbs, generally on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month September to June (with some exceptions — see dates below). We are looking into monthly dates in summer in an air-conditioned location.

Next dance:
Sunday, July 12, 2026
International folk dance: 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
English country dance: 4:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Civic Center Gymnasium
535 Duane Street
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

Parking information

Park in the parking garage on the south side of the facility. (The village is very strict with ticketing vehicles in approved parking spaces.) Use the rear entrance on the south side of the facility in between the parking garage and garbage dumpsters.

Or use street parking nearby 

It is a short walk from the Glen Ellyn Metra station, on the south side of the tracks.

We prefer any donated treats to be bite-sized and easy to consume neatly.
We recommend bringing your own water bottle.

Suggested donation is $5-$10 for all or part of the afternoon.

We have relaxed our previous COVID-19 policy but are requesting that newcomers review the participant information and conditions page and fill out the relevant form before coming.

Upcoming dates

  • Summer dates at the air-conditioned Civic Center Gymnasium, 535 Duane Street, Glen Ellyn
    3 to 7 p.m.
    • Sunday, August 2
    • Sunday, August 30
    • Sunday, September 20
  • Special event: Cross Step Waltz with Susan de Guardiola, Sunday, September 13, Civic Center Gymnasium, 535 Duane Street, Glen Ellyn, 3 to 7 p.m.
  • Harvest Moon Dance Weekend — October 2 – 4, 2026. Baker Community Center, St. Charles, with Bruce Hamilton calling, Mara Shea and Dave Wiesler playing!

A Bit of History

English country dancing in Chicago’s Western suburbs was held beginning in 2006 at Fermilab’s Kuhn Barn, and beginning in 2011 on at the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park, called by Mady Newfield and Tammy Bretscher, with occasional other guests, including Tom Senior, Bruce Hamilton, Colin Hume, Tom Amessé, Louise Siddons, and Nikki Herbst.  Unfortunately, since the pandemic, neither venue is possible.

While we are happy with this venue for now, we may still consider other locations for dancing in the Western suburbs. Suggestions of possible venues are welcome. Please contact us.

We enjoy having live music as often as it is possible. Our “house band” at Fermilab was Old Fezziwig’s Band, organized by Dan van Loon. Since then we have also enjoyed the music of other musicians such as the Cosmic Otters (Jonathan Whitall and Meg Dedolph), Tim Macdonald and Jeremy Ward, Rare Privilege (Maria Terres and Amy McFarland), Liz Donaldson, Mara Shea, and Mary Vanhoozer, in addition to the musicians we bring in yearly for our Harvest Moon Dance Weekend.

Additional resources

List of dances done by Chicagoland West IFD, 2022 on

List of dances done by Chicagoland West ECD, 2021 on
(includes dances done at Oak Park gatherings during the pandemic)

List of dances done at Fermilab ECD, 2006 – 2020

List of dances done at Oak Park ECD, 2011 – 2020