Gamercyrus’s Blog

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Dan said he vows to never dance again in the Stony Plain or Spruce Grove area again.

Dancing Dan can now groove to his music knowing that he wont have to appear in court anymore after stunting charges against him were dropped June 17.

The Spruce Grove RCMP met with Daniel Corey Booth, known as Dancing Dan for his performances on the corner of streets, and came to an agreement that saw the charges dismissed.

Booth was to appear on July 23 at the Stony Plain Provincial Court.

“We’re certainly not telling him he can’t dance,”  said Sgt. Jim Martin of the Spruce Grove RCMP detachment.

“We never had any issues with Dan dancing. It just some of the complaints we are receiving.”

Martin said it was never their intent to run Booth out of Spruce Grove, only that they were acting on these complaints including reports of Booth standing on the guard rail on Hwy 16A, which if he were to fall would put him and motorist in danger.

Other complains police received were from passing motorist believing that Booth was having a medical episode when he would do a dance routine lying on the ground, or that he was staged at a major intersection for extended periods.

“He pretty much agreed that those things he would stop doing and still be able to dance and continue what he does, so it’s just a matter of modifying some of his behavior, which really results in the complaints,” Martin said.

Booth’s popularity created a media storm of coverage and support from people who enjoy his dancing antics. The whole issue started on June 5, when Booth was dancing on the corner of Calahoo Rd. and Grove Dr. near the Spruce Grove Composite High School. Police stopped Booth and ordered him to appear in court on charges of stunting, which rules on whether or not someone is a safety distraction to motorist.

After the charges were dropped, Booth wrote on his Facebook page that “it has been thrown out but I know I will never go there again because I have to follow the rules that they told me to do if I’m there but I said no I will not do what they are asking from me so I will only dance in the city for the rest of my life.”

One lingering question remains.

Booth garnered a great deal of monetary support from the public over the fine. In the end however, he was only given a court appearance with no monetary penalty. The question remains as to the fate of the money.

This is my column from the Stony Plain Reporter / Spruce Grove Examiner that I was unfortunately forced to revised literally in the final hours before going to print (it was approved by my editor-in-chief, but not by the publishing manager). Here is the UNRATED version.

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Farmers' Days 2008 Parade. Other events including arm wrestling, pancake breakfast, midway rides, a rodeo, and of course, the beer garden.

For me, Farmers’ Days, along with the Kinsmen Rodeo and the midway rides (I consider it all to be one event) has been an integral part of my upbringing.

As someone who has lived most of my life in Stony Plain, Farmers’ Days is one of the biggest events of the year for me, and as I grew up and my personality changed, so did the event change for me.

I think most of my memories of Farmers’ Days came when I was a teenager. It was all about how much mischief my friends and I could get away with and how drunk we could
get while doing it.

There used to be a hole in the fence surrounding the exhibition grounds and we used to sneak in through that to avoid paying the entrance fee, which is no longer charged.

Once in, it was a game to find someone older we knew to help us get into the beer gardens, or at least get someone to buy us some alcohol. If you were caught, you were made fun of the next day so the aim was to be as sneaky as you could.

We would then take our liquored selves out to the midway rides area and use our new sense of confidence to woo the girls, which rarely worked.

When we got bored with that along with the rides, we would look for trouble outside of the fair grounds and stumble our way through Stony, vandalizing the neighbourhood (which I’m completely not proud of, I’m sorry if it was your property).

I sometimes think the heavy police presence during Farmers’ Days was a result of us doing bad deeds, but then again, many delinquent teens did the same before us, and many still do now.

The annual parade holds a bittersweet memory for me.

My younger brothers were often in the parade riding their BMX bikes with all the tassels and whatnot, and I would be filled with joy as they came around the corner. I would shout, “I know those kids. They are my brothers.”

But it was one particular year that remains at the top of my memories.

One year during the parade when I was a teenager, I woke up late and nearly missed the event.

I rushed out of my home and ran to the corner I knew my mom would be at since my brothers were again in the parade. When I finally found her, I noticed that she was upset.

It was on this day that I found out that my parents were getting a divorce. I’ve yet to watch another parade since. My brothers are too old to be in the parade now so I guess that’s another factor why. Maybe I’ll go this year.

I’m an adult now and I no longer have to be sneaky with my alcohol binging. No longer do the midway rides or the carnie games satisfy me. Now it’s all about the beer garden.

I remember the first year I turned 18, the beer gardens were cancelled due to excessive rowdiness. Disappointed, I returned the next year to finally experience something I once longed for as a kid.

Now that I’ve been to the beer gardens a few times, I’ll admit that I prefer the good old days. I guess the sense of adventure from trying not to get caught with my delinquent ways was the best part.

These days, I’ll just tip my beer back and enjoy reminiscing with old friends and people I haven’t seen for years while I’m at Farmers’ Days.

This year is special though. The earlier date means that the first day of Farmer’s Days will land on my birthday, so if anybody spots me at the exhibition grounds, be sure to buy me a cold one!

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