Annual father/daughter dance held at Coshocton Elementary School
Lynn Powelson brought his niece, Abby Thomas, 7, to the annual father/daughter dance at the Coshocton Elementary School on Saturday, Jan. 6. Jen Jones | Beacon
COSHOCTON – Despite the bitter cold, the gym at Coshocton Elementary School was full of dressed up dads, uncles and grandpas with their beautiful “dates” for the evening. Excited girls ran around showing off their dresses and giggling over their dad’s dance moves.
“One Snowy Night” was the theme of the third annual Father/Daughter Dance sponsored by the CHS Cheerleaders. The cheerleaders were in charge of decorating the gym, hallway and cafeteria in snowy beauty and several of the cheerleaders were dressed as characters from the movie “Frozen”.
Molly Thomas, varsity cheerleader coach, said the dance was for kindergarten through 6th grade, but if a preschooler wanted to come, they were welcome.
“This is a little earlier than we usually have the dance, so we weren’t sure how many would be here,” said Thomas. “I’m excited to see so many!”
The dance is a fundraiser for the cheerleaders.
“We had to buy new uniforms this year, so the money we earn tonight will go toward replacing those funds and buying new supplies like paint and pompoms,” said Thomas. “We just love doing this. It’s a special time for dads to spend with their little girls. It doesn’t have to be dad that brings the girls – it could be an uncle or grandpa or step-dad. Anyone that the girl wants to bring. Lots of the girls really dress up, but they could wear whatever they are comfortable in.”
Emma Bechtol, 5, was one of the girls attending the dance with her dad, Brad Bechtol. When asked why she was excited to be at the dance, she said, “Cause I get to wear a dress and be with my friends.” She said her dad took her to Bob Evans for supper first and that he brought her flowers, too.
Laryssa Cain, Stephanie Allen, Teuana Myers and Paris White were just a few of the cheerleaders who were helping at the dance. As costumed characters, they were very popular with the little girls who all wanted a picture taken with them. Cain said, “I wish there had been dances like this when I was little.” The other girls agreed. White said she knew her dad would have brought her as a child because he brought her little sister. The girls said it took about two hours to decorate and they were having fun watching all of the girls dance.
Lynn Powelson attended the dance with his niece, Abby Thomas.
“It’s a great way to spend quality time with the children,” said Powelson.
They attended the dance two years ago and had fun, so they came back again. Abby was running with her friends as Powelson watched.
“I’m not a dancer,” he said. “I can handle the slow dances.”
Julie Uhl said that they usually have 150-200 girls at the dance. “It’s a fun time of the year to do something like this. It’s fun to see all the girls dressed up. We’ll have a few contests, like the coolest dad’s dance moves.”
Category: Education
