Fathers around Abilene will have the chance to take their daughters on a date night Feb. 14 at the 15th annual Daddy Daughter Dinner and Dance at the Abilene Civic Center. According to the Reporter News, the dance is sponsored by Abilene’s Recreation and Senior Citizens Division.
Girls from ages 5-9 are encouraged to bring along their fathers or best gentlemen friends to participate in the night of dinner and dancing. They also get a photo with their date and a goody bag.
Anita Vigil, program supervisor for the city of Abilene, believes this is a good opportunity for fathers to spend quality time with their daughters. “Sometimes with everything in their schedules they don’t get a chance to do something together,” Vigil said.
The first year the Daddy Daughter Dinner and Dance was held, only fifteen couples participated. This year there are over 580 people signed up to go. “We started in a classroom, but now we are using the whole foyer and exhibit hall of the Abilene Civic Center,” Vigil said.
The dance has participants who come back every year. “We have a family that has been coming for fourteen of the fifteen years,” Vigil said. Some families have continued to come back even after their daughters have grown out of the age range.
This year participants can expect something new in the form of a live video feed. Cameras will be placed around the dance floor so that the girls can see themselves dancing through the live feed displayed on a video screen.
This is the only event put on by the city of Abilene specifically for dads and their daughters. “This is a night for dads and daughters to get away and do something together,” Vigil said.
