Longtime Homer dance instructor Lorraine Haas will host a costume giveaway and “memory train” for all of her previous students at the Faith Lutheran Church on Saturday, June 22, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The “memory train” title just indicates the opportunity for all former community members who participated in courses, performances and events with Haas to come look at old photo albums, saved programs and possibly films and share memories of time in the studio.

Now retired, Haas also invites all former teachers who taught at the studio. Former teachers she mentioned include Barb Gambell who taught a step aerobics class, Sandy Cronland who taught yoga, Martie Krohn who ran Shotokon Karate School.

The studio held classes for youth and adults including ballet, tap, line dancing and ballroom dance. Haas also provided classes specifically for senior citizens in the studio.

Haas Studio was located on Bunnell Avenue above Haas Electric but the building was destroyed in a fire in approximately 2019, according to Asia Freeman, owner of the Bunnell Street Gallery.

In a conversation with the Homer News, Haas provided quite a bit of personal background information on how she came to Alaska after being trained as a dance teacher in England. She came to Alaska in 1956 when her husband at the time, Jim Haas, was stationed at the Elmendorf Airforce Base, she told the Homer News.

She started teaching dance and theater in both studios and public schools in Anchorage and after her husband retired from the military they moved to Homer, where she taught in several locations before they purchased the Haas building in 1984.

Haas continued to teach dance until about 1996.

She would also like to collect the names of former students during the “memory train” and current names if the student has been married and will have a log book for people to provide that information.