BigDitchCricketsThe Big Ditch Crickets with Jeanie McLerie (front row center) and her husband Ken Keppeler.The Big Ditch Crickets, a community band, announced a family-friendly and gender-free dance in the ballroom of the Murray Hotel, 200 W. Broadway St. in Silver City, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Saturday, October 19, 2024. Suggested donations are $10/individual or $15/two, with children under 12 welcomed free.

The event will have a Halloween theme, so attendees are encouraged to try out their costumes. Carol Ann Fugagli will teach and call the dances, all of them easy to learn and fun for all ages. No experience necessary!

The dance will be a benefit for Gila/Mimbres Community Radio (KURU 89.1 FM), in honor of the late Jeanie McLerie, a founding member of the Big Ditch Crickets and a strong supporter of the non-profit community radio station since its inception. Jeanie McLerie and her husband Ken Keppeler, well known as the musical duo Bayou Seco, introduced many tunes from the American Southwest and around the world to the repertoire of the Big Ditch Crickets.