Milwaukee’s Dancing Grannies to perform in Dixon Petunia Festival parade July 6

DIXON – The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies will join the Dixon Petunia Festival parade on Sunday, July 6.

Troupe member Betty Streng said she will be joined by at least 20 fellow “grannies” for the parade, which steps off at 1 p.m. from St. Mary’s School and proceeds to Dixon High School.

The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies started in 1984 as an exercise group for older women, eventually taking their routines to the streets and evolving into a tight-knit sisterhood that has performed in parades across the country for over four decades. Streng said representatives from the Dixon Petunia Festival invited her group.

“A board member saw them perform at another local parade and loved their energetic performance,” Festival Executive Volunteer Board President Bethany Wright said. “Because of that, the parade committee reached out to book them for this year’s festival. We are excited to have a new entertainment act in this year’s parade that is sure to bring a smile to everyone’s faces.”

As a member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, Streng survived the November 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy, when a man intentionally drove an SUV through the crowd, injured over 60 people and killed six. Three fellow Dancing Grannies performing alongside her were among those killed.

Darrell E. Brooks Jr. was subsequently charged and found guilty in October 2022 of six counts of first-degree homicide, according to the Associated Press.

Streng suffered two skull fractures and brain bleeding and had a long road to recovery. Weeks in the hospital caused her to lose significant muscle mass and strength, especially in her legs.

“I was using a walker, and that lasted into February,” Streng said. “In January, I wasn’t using it so much at home, but in February, I got rid of it. That was probably my first goal, to get rid of the walker.”

Streng also struggled with balance and dizziness, but setting clear milestones kept her pushing forward.

“My second goal was to be able to watch my granddaughter again every other week,” Streng said. “My third goal was to get back with the Grannies for the St. Patrick’s Day parade that was our first parade that we had.”

Despite the physical and emotional toll, Streng pushed through, gradually rebuilt her strength and returned to perform with the Dancing Grannies, including at the Waukesha Christmas parade less than a year after the tragedy.

“What I’ve come to realize is that I’ve found sisters I didn’t know I wanted or needed.”

—  Betty Streng

“I was still too new to the group to really know what kind of a group it was,” Streng said. “Right after the incident, I got phone calls and cards and gifts from grannies. They wanted to know that I was OK... take your time in coming back... and what I’ve come to realize is that I’ve found sisters that I didn’t know I wanted or needed.”

The 2021 tragedy unexpectedly connected Streng to Dixon. In the months following the attack, she received a handmade prayer shawl from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dixon. The church’s quilting ministry had quietly disbanded years earlier, according to member Evelyn Cornwell.

“We would make quilts all year and then ship them overseas to needy people in foreign countries,” Cornwell said. “They never stayed within the [United] States. I didn’t know she [Betty] had received one.”

Whether it was a postal mix up or something more spiritual, Streng was moved by the gesture.

“It’s just so heartwarming and touching, and I’m speechless, and I can’t truly describe how it makes me feel,” Streng said. “When I saw that the Dixon parade was on our schedule, I was like, ‘I’m going.’ For me, this is something that has come around full circle again. From the Grannies’ perspective, I can’t say that it is, because I don’t know if they know that’s part of my story.”

Since the tragedy, the group has grown and changed.

“When I joined, they were low on numbers, and couldn’t always be in a parade if everybody wasn’t available to be there,” Streng said. ”Then, we lost a couple of the leaders. We had to get through recovery, and then we had to rebuild.”

One of the women killed in the Waukesha attack, Virginia “Ginny” Sorenson, was known for a phrase that continues to guide the group: “Keep on dancing.”

“That is kind of the back motto,” Streng said. “Yeah, we’re doing it.”

The Grannies have since welcomed new members, a new choreographer and fresh music. They also have expanded their performances beyond parades.

“We do what we call stand-alone performances,” Streng said. “We were at our veterans hospital in the Milwaukee area. We also have Summer Fest in Milwaukee. We go to senior living places too and perform there.”

These appearances have allowed the group to turn grief into outreach.

“I love being able to bring a smile to somebody’s face, whether it’s singing to them or dancing for them,” said Streng, who also has performed with local singing groups.

Streng’s memory of the Waukesha attack remains mostly a blur, aside from a few moments of preparation before the parade.

“It was my first winter parade with the Grannies,” she said. “I remember watching others bundle up. One member wore her winter coat over her costume. That’s all I remember – good or bad.”

Now, with her recovery behind her and the group surging forward, Streng sees her upcoming visit to Dixon not just as a performance, but as a personal pilgrimage.