Delano Dollies Dance Hall Revue

10/19/2025

Are you ready for some spooky fun? 👻

Come by and see us for a few pop-up performances during Hay, Hooves and Halloween, ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ at 2:30pm & 4:00pm! 🎃

With zombies and ghost stories, fortune telling and games, and of course candy, there’s plenty of fun to be had. 🍭

Admission is $7 per person ($2 for members). Kids 4 and under are ꜰʀᴇᴇ!

We’ll be dying to see you there. 🧛‍♀️💋☠️

06/16/2025

Opening the pickle jar has never been easier! 🥒🫙

06/04/2025

Tumbleweeds are iconic of the Old West. 🐂

Indicative of dusty cattle drives and tense silences followed by a quickdraw - or as a horseless carriage for tiny mice - they surprisingly aren’t something that was always around.

Introduced into North America accidentally in the 1870s, Russian Thistle is native to Europe and Asia. Growing in a rounded shape, the plants break cleanly away from their roots in the fall, shaking thousands of seeds loose as they roll in the wind. They grow best in loose disturbed soil, and pioneer farmers both accidentally and incidentally created the perfect conditions for them as they cut down prairie grasses to plough the Great Plains. 🌬️

📷 ©stephmcblack, iNaturalist

06/03/2025

A top hat was the mainstay of a Victorian man’s life. 🎩

They indicated a respectable and well-to-do man of industry. Tall and cylindrical, these hats were made of silk mounted on a felt base and typically black. They eventually fell out of favour in the early 1900s, becoming associated with stuffiness and formality, and smaller hats such as bowlers were adopted for everyday wear instead.

📷 Paul Stevenson

06/02/2025

04/09/2025

Few musical instruments are more deeply connected to the American experience than the banjo. 🪕

Born from enslaved Africans, the banjo was exclusively known as an African-American tradition through the 1830s, and thus seen as a lower class instrument. This view changed with its inclusion in minstrel shows however. As unfortunate an attraction and avenue as these shows were, they subsequently lead to the banjo’s widespread popularity. The banjo was now being played and enjoyed across the entire nation- as many a soldier’s pre-Civil War photo can attest.

Being able to purchase a banjo from a reputable instrument making company lent them a certain respectability in the 1880s. Originally a 4 stringed instrument, it wasn’t long before a classic 5th string was added, and 6-stringed banjos were even being produced by S.S. Stewart in 1888. Although the banjo really found its stride once again in African-American roots with jazz, today it is most often associated with bluegrass and folk music. 🌾

Fun fact: banjo makers often started in business as bicycle manufacturers! If you’d like to learn more about this amazing instrument, check out the PBS documentary “Give Me the Banjo”.

04/08/2025

Delilah is an impulsive, fun loving woman- and gets in trouble if men are around!

A mere seven years ago she showed up on our doorstep with a giggle, and asked if we were looking for dancers. While she doesn’t talk about her past we know something happened involving men, money, or alcohol. (If we had to guess, it likely was all three!)

Happy "Birthday" to our delightful Delilah. Her enthusiastic high kicks and flirtatious winks are one of the prettiest additions to a Dollies Show. ♥️🌹💋

04/07/2025

It’s a fine day for a stroll! 🌼

04/02/2025

The "Wild West" was a time of westward expansion on the American Frontier. Lasting from roughly from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, it is characterized by self-reliance and resourcefulness.

The rise of the cattle industry and the need to drive them long distances to market played a significant role, with the development of railroads aiding this and opening up vast areas for settlement and economic development at a rapid speed. Unfortunately this also lead to conflict, especially with many Native American tribes who defended their ancestral lands against being occupied. But the allure of opportunities unseen still attracted a diverse population of settlers, farmers, businessmen, cowboys, and outlaws to the Great Plains and the prospects they presented. 🌾🐂🌄


📷 ©National Geographic

04/01/2025

Victorian fashion changed often and rapidly. 🧵🪡

As new technological advancements were developed in machinery and dyes, more clothing could be manufactured quickly and inexpensively. This in turn fueled a market of advertising and mass consumption through the printing and proliferation of fashion magazines. As styles were based on gender, race, and social standing however, frequently only the upper classes were able to afford the latest fashion trends.


🖌️ William Powell Frith, 1883

03/31/2025

Carpooling by any other name! 🎟️


©Rob Ward

03/27/2025

Señorita Anita Mann was always searching for, well, a man! 😉

There are things more precious than copper and gold, and she was determined to find it. Her flirtatious nature and sunny smile did finally find her a man, and she moved on to bigger things. Although Señorita’s performance with us was over 20 years ago, her name is still a famous one with the Dollies to this day! 🖤🧡💛