FAQ

Are there classes?

Nope! Just a full weekend of great music, hangouts, dancing, and partying.

Will there be air conditioning?

Yes! All of our venues have AC. Air conditioning cannot always keep up with a full room of dancers, but we'll do our best. We'll have water, please drink it! There will be some cold treats!

Will you have a competition this year? What will it be like? When will it take place?

Yes! We will again have a peer-judged social comp this year. We will have the prelims for both leads and follows take place during the first band break, second band set, and second band set on Saturday night — or approximately 9:15pm–11pm. Unlike the past two years, both roles will be judged simultaneously so participants will have to choose one dance role. Finals will take place around 10pm on Sunday for the top 5 leads and follows. We’re still working out the details of the finals but plan to have 10 finalists who will select the top competitors of the opposite role. We plan on providing cash prizes to all finalists with higher amounts for the top finalists.

Can I get merch?

Yes! We have shirts, tote bags, mugs, and fans available through registration until August 15th. After then, or if you want a different style or color versus what we’re offering then you can order items at TeePublic.

Will there be a themed outfit night again this year?

This year, we're really putting the star in North Star Blues! It's a Saturday evening celestial soirée. Join your fellow stars in Minnesota this fall — we hope you're ready to sparkle and shine. That said, please be mindful that some folks may say no to a dance if you’re wearing glitter!

I’d like to take a few lessons to get familiar with blues dancing or brush up before North Star, do you have lessons available?

Yes! We have a 3 week series scheduled with head teacher Emily Troe Djrouko in August. You can get more information and register here.

Will I miss information if I don't have social media?

The facebook event is public — at least on desktop you should be able to see the posts there without signing in. We'll do our best to make sure all information is on the website too! We also have a signal group this year! You can join to get updates, ask questions, etc.

What is the covid policy?

In alignment with general social norms we will not have COVID-19 vaccine/testing requirements. Masks will be welcome but not required. N95s will be available for free at the door.

Can I transfer or postpone my pass or get a refund?

No refunds will be issued for any reason. Dancers may transfer a pass to another person (email the pass recipient and northstarblues.exchange@gmail.com to coordinate), or in the case of last minute illness/injury/other emergency may defer their pass to North Star Blues 2026.

What if I get sick?

To protect our community, if you are experiencing symptoms of any communicable illness at the time of the event, you will not be allowed to attend and your pass will be deferred to next year's North Star Blues. All dancers are expected to pay attention to their own health and send an email to northstarblues.exchange@gmail.com if they have attended part of the event and have developed symptoms consistent with a communicable illness. The North Star Blues organizer team will then alert all event attendees via the email addresses provided on this registration form. We will not reveal the name of the person reporting, unless they explicitly say that they prefer we do.

Is housing available?

You'll be able to request housing when you register. Although we cannot guarantee housing placement, we've been able to find spots for everyone who requested housing in the last 5 years of North Star Blues. Housing assignments typically go out in early August by email. We do ask in our housing form whether you can comfortably afford to stay elsewhere. If we're running out of spots and you checked this option, we'll get in touch.

What is the fragrance policy?

Please don't bring or use strongly fragranced products, as we have community members who are fragrance sensitive. The biggest offenders for fragrance sensitive folks are generally perfume/cologne, strongly scented lotions (think Bath and Body Works), and scented hand sanitizer. Scented deodorant and most hair products are generally not an issue. We’ll provide plenty of unscented hand sanitizer!

How accessible are the venues?

  • Lindy’s house has several front steps, and has a first floor bathroom.
  • PNA Hall has a flight of stairs to get to the space we'll be in, and has multi-stall bathrooms that we will label all-gender.
  • Midtown Global Market is has access ramps and multi-stall mens/womens bathrooms with ADA accessible stalls.
  • Four Seasons has an access ramp and single-stall all-gender bathrooms.

We’d love to hear from you if any of this brings up any concerns for you or if there are other aspects of accessibility you have questions about or need help with.

What is the public transit/rideshare situation in the Twin Cities?

We have a bus and light rail system, including a light rail line directly to the airport. You can use google maps to navigate it. It works, but as with most US cities it can take a while. Lyft and Uber are also available.

I’ll be in town Friday/Monday, what should I do?

We encourage locals to post on the facebook group if they are interested in hosting folks who want to do things like play board games. We’d also recommend:

What food will you provide? How do you handle allergies and dietary restrictions?

We will provide late night snacks (think: cookies, fruits and veggies, hummus and chips, cheese and crackers, etc) on Friday just after the band ends around midnight. Saturday we’ll do a hot food item, also right after the band ends around midnight. Sunday we’ll do snacks again and likely put them out a little earlier since we won’t have a live band. We will label allergens attendees identify in their registration in these items and make sure we have options that will work for a variety of diets (gluten free, vegetarian, vegan for sure). We will avoid any foods with peanuts or tree nuts and ask that you do not bring any into any of our venues.

What if my question isn’t in the FAQ?

If you still have questions, please email northstarblues.exchange@gmail.com and we will get back to you within a few days. This is an organization run on enthusiasm, we try to respond quickly but sometimes the rest of life gets busy!