Yehoodi Is Turning 25: We want your stories!

Believe it or not, it was about 25 years ago that Yehoodi.com first started as one of the first online spaces dedicated to lindy hop. In 1998, a small group of dancers decided that New York City needed a website to connect local “hepcat swingers.” A bit of coding by Spuds and some cash paid to a local web host and Yehoodi.com was born! 

Over the years, what began as a local web hangout grew into a national and then international site. Our offerings expanded to include discussion forums, a national events calendar, swing news coverage, streaming radio, podcasts, a video talk show, annual dance parties, live streamed competition coverage, and more. 

At its heart, Yehoodi has always been about the lindy hop community — you, reading this. 

To celebrate this milestone, we want to remember the ways that Yehoodi has impacted people’s lives around the world. To do that, we need your help!  In the coming weeks, we’ll explain a few ways you can share your stories and media with us. 

Does this describe you?

• Were you an active Yehoodite during the bulletin board years?

• Did you attend a Yehoodi party, like Basie100, Y2A, etc?

• Did you watch / listen to the “Yehoodi Talk Show,” “SwingNation,” “Hey Mister Jesse” or any other shows we put out?

• Did you watch our ILHC live broadcasts?

• Did our news and commentary inform or help you in some way?

If you answered “yes” to any of this, we want your story!  Between June and August, we’ll be collecting anecdotes and photos from all those eras of Yehoodi. Then in September we’ll share a selection of these on the site. And depending on the responses, a bigger project might come out of it.

So is there a connection, memory, or Yehoodi event that sticks out for you? Let us know in the comments!