CLEAR LAKE, IA-Ladies -get out your poodle skirts -and men - grab those white tee's and lettermen jackets.
It's a time to dress up, dance and remember an older era.
We are celebrating the Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake ... And of course, the music of the 50's.
From costumes to cutting the rug with some old moves it's always fun to see folks embracing a different time period.
And this community is making sure the younger generation does the same.
When you're a teenager, your role models are often those seen on the big screen or heard on the radio.
For Ann Pipes it was the Big Bopper...
53 years ago, after the plane crashed, his death was announced on Ann's local radio station in Texas. She felt so strongly about the incident that she wrote a letter to the station about how the fans were taking the news
Pipes said, "We loved him and we wanted the world to know that we were grieving too."
Her letter is just one of the many stories that continue to live on through the winter dance party
Some of them are pretty unforgettable. Tommy Allsup flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens for a seat on the plane..he lost...and lived.
Allsup said, "It makes you a lot more spiritual. It makes you thank God every day that you’re alive and I still regret that it happened. I wish we hadn't played here that night we would have gone on to the next town, but you can't look back..hindsight 20-20."
Taking a look back is just what this community does during a few days in February, but they're not forgetting about the future. Organizers say passing on these stories and traditions to the younger generation is becoming a new goal.
Paul King is from England and is also an Organizer of the Winter School Dance Party. He said, "I think that generation was a very colorful era and we're certainly done what we can to keep that going and nowhere is it better than here in clear lake."
Clear Lake students are getting a big dose of culture in the form of a concert put on by the Winter Dance Party musical scholarship organization.
Their goal is to replace lady gaga and Justin Bieber for an afternoon and introduce some good old fashion Rock n' Roll music.
King said, "There must be something in it that's made it good for all generations."
