The Belton Journal
On Friday and Saturday nights, the Harris Community Center was the setting for a sock hop 50’s theme Father Daughter Dance.
The dance has been an annual tradition for 14 years. Outside the center there were a couple of vintage cars parked, for guests to take pictures in front of.
The inside of the center was decked out in streamers, hanging records, and various lights. A DJ provided the music for the evening, which consisted mostly of 50’s music.
There was a buffet style meal served of sandwiches, fruits and candy for guests, along with a photo booth for dads to take pictures with their daughters.
Molly Hart, Events and Marketing Coordinator for Belton, was one of the people planning the event. She said that around four to five months of planning went into the event.
“My hope is that the dads and daughters get to spend quality time together,” she said.
Girls and their fathers started to stroll into the sock hop around 5:30 p.m. The dance quickly started off with the ecstatic dancing of the girls with their dads. Girls wore poodle skirts, bandanas, and polka dots. Not only were the girls decked out in fifties attire, but the dads also joined in with some throwback outfits. The dads came dressed in leather jackets, suits, and ties.
Matt and Ivy Orem were some of the dressed-up participants. Ivy Orem was in a blue jean dress shirt made by her grandmother and her dad wore a nice suspender and fedora combo.
“It’s fun to get dressed up,” said Matt. Ivy could not agree more as she talked about her grandmother’s great job on her shirt.
No time was wasted on the dance floor. Throughout the night the dancing continued nonstop. The girls danced, jumped, and twirled across the dance floor with their dads.
David and his two daughters, KJ and Shiloh Laws, had a good time.
“We are loving it. We got some food, we’ve been dancing, we got some pictures. It’s been great.”
That seemed to be the consensus of the night.
Activities halfway through the dance gave some great entertainment for the girls while also giving the dads a break from the dance floor. The first activity was a daddy and daughter quiz where dads were put to the test of how well they know their daughters. Two dads were put against each other to see who knew more about their girl. The prizes were a pop-it and a slime kit.
The next activity was heads or tails, when the announcer would flip a coin and get heads or tails and the dads and girls would guess what it would be. The competition was heated, and it came down to one dad against six girls. The girls ended up beating out the last dad, with the prize a Pegasus kite.
The last activity was a relay race, where the first daddy-daughter team to hula hoop up and down the dance floor won. Two teams went against each other. The daughters were neck and neck but the dad for the winning team really came through and hula hooped his way to victory. The winning team received a slime kit.
As soon as the activities were over, the dancing immediately started back up. No hesitation was made, and the girls and their fathers were back to dancing the night away. The dance was a true testament to the beloved daddy daughter relationship.
