Daddy-daughter dances
What: Jefferson Parks and Recreation Department’s Daddy-Daughter Valentine’s Dance
When: 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $15 per couple in advance, $20 at the door; $5 for each additional girl. Tickets can be purchased at the department’s main office at 2495 Old Pendergrass Road.
Contact: www.jeffersonrec.com/index.php.
Also: For more information about the Gainesville Parks and Recreation Department’s Mardi Gras daddy-daughter dance, visit www.gainesville.org/recreation. Tickets are $40 per couple and must be purchased by Friday.
You may have already made plans for Feb. 14 with the missus, but don’t forget to earmark some time for your youngest Valentine, your daughter.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Jefferson Parks and Recreation Department has planned a special "daddy-daughter" dance for Friday.
"Daddy-daughter dances are a pretty common occurrence among civic clubs and other recreation departments around the country. Four years ago, there wasn’t anything like that established in Jefferson..." said Colton Green, the Jefferson Parks and Recreation Department director. "It’s open to everyone in (Jackson) county, but over the years, our largest group of participants have been elementary school girls and their dads."
Advance tickets to the dance are $15 per couple and $20 at the door. The cost for additional girls is $5 per child.
Green says having dances like the daddy-daughter event serve a greater purpose than just giving families something fun to do on Valentine’s Day.
"I have a daughter myself and I think it is important for dads to establish a close relationship with their daughters at a young age," Green said. "If dads don’t do that, then daughters will grow up and try to find that connection with another male. It’s important to give daughters a mold of what the man in her life should be like."
The dance will be held from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Friday at the Jefferson Civic Center on Kissam Street. Admission includes a light dinner and a photographer will also be available to take portraits from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.
"This is really just going to be a fun night for dads to bond with their daughters," Green said. "There’s no dress code really. We have some dads and daughters who go all out, but then we also have some dads who wear jeans and a nice shirt and their daughters dress accordingly with that. Just dress comfortably, be yourself and get ready to have fun."
The Gainesville Parks and Recreation Department is also planning a daddy-daughter dance for this month, but it will be a Mardi Gras themed event and will take place on three separate days for different ages: ages 11-18, Feb. 17; ages 8-10, Feb. 19; and ages 4-7, Feb. 20. The Mardi Gras dance will be held from 5:30 p.m. through 8 p.m. on each day.