By McKenna MIDDLETON, intern

The girls of Mountain Avenue Elementary School celebrated Valentine’s Day with the men in their lives on Feb. 13 at the annual Daddy Daughter Dance. To pay homage to the holiday, the dance’s theme was hearts. From the food to the decorations, pink and red hearts added a festive ambiance to the dance.

The event was planned and arranged by Girl Scout Troop 15851. Since the girls are all sixth graders, the honor of organizing next year’s dance will go to another troop when 15851 promotes.

The girls and their dads were dressed in their finest, in dresses and suits respectively. Many daughters wore corsages that paired nicely with the paper flower boutonnieres their fathers were presented with upon arrival. The couples then had their picture taken, which would be given to them at the end of the night as a keepsake. There were even frames for decorating.

In addition to dancing to the music provided by a DJ who is the father of a Mountain Avenue Elementary School student, the couples could enjoy refreshments, decorate their frames, or even make Valentine cards for each other.

“In my experience, the daughters do most of the dancing,” said sixth grader and troop 15851 Girl Scout Molly Fleischer.

However, there were plenty of dads twirling their daughters on the dance floor throughout the night.

Taking a break from dancing, attendees could take part in the annual paper airplane contest followed by a hula-hoop contest in which both fathers and daughters competed. This was followed by dancing lessons from resident ballroom dancer Kimmy Blood. For the past three years, Blood has taught the crowd of dads and daughters swing dancing with her father. This year, though, her uncle Mike stepped in as her dad was out of town. The simple swing dance lesson was a hit as usual.

The fathers and daughters spent the rest of the night enjoying each other’s company as they danced the night away to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

  Mckenna MIDDLETON