Couples two-step across the linoleum dance floor as Arnie Johnson & the Midnight Special provide danceable tunes up on the stage. Others sit at tables conversing, drinking and enjoying the music. Everyone, from teenagers to those in their 90s, has come out this Saturday night, and the hall is more crowded than it’s been in years.

Couples get out of their seats to dance Saturday evening at the Knights of Columbus building, 2206 E. 23rd St.

But the evening is bittersweet. After 45 years, the Knights of Columbus building at 2206 E. 23rd St. is closing, leaving the dancers in need of a new place to continue their longtime tradition.

“I’ll miss the mood,” says Ron Wright, a patron of the dances for more than two decades. “When you leave, you feel good.”

The Knights of Columbus is getting out of the dance hall business and putting its building up for sale, explains member and dance organizer Jon Rossillon.

The monthly dances, which started in the early 1970s, have featured many bands over the years, but Arnie Johnson has been a staple since the beginning. The hall was a little different in those days, though.

“Back then, you could bring your own bottle (of alcohol),” says Caroline Chinn, a patron of the dances since the 1980s. “It used to be that by 7:30, it was standing room only. A lot of the regulars still come, though.”

Though times have changed, the music hasn’t, says patron Gordon Riley, who’s been attending the dances for 45 years. Johnson and his band specialize in country music but will take requests, too.

“When (the dancers) walk in the door, I know what they’re looking for,” Johnson explains.

After more than four decades, he has won a loyal group of fans, who are really more like close friends, he admits.

Colorful stage lights paint Arnie Johnson's face blue as he sings Saturday evening at the Knights of Columbus building, 2206 E 23rd St. Johnson has been a regular performer at the building for the past 40 years.

“The crowds are as great as ever,” Johnson says. “The volume isn’t the same, but they’re good people.”

The hall is his favorite place to play, he says, because of the people. Many of the patrons agree, recounting fond memories of those they’ve encountered there. Some couples even first met as dance partners at the hall.

“I asked him to dance, and we’ve been dancing ever since,” Marilyn Lewallen says of her husband, Ron, whom she met in 1997. “We had our wedding reception here.”

Rich Johnson, Arnie’s son and bandmate, who has helped his father with the equipment since Rich was 9 years old, says the hall feels like a member of the family.

“You walk in like it’s your home,” Rich says. “It’s going to be sad when it’s gone. It’s been a part of my life for so long.”