By RORYE O’CONNOR
rorye.oconnor@register-news.com
MT. VERNON — Almost 200 dads and daughters of Jefferson County dressed in their Sunday best for the Masquerade Father/Daughter Ball held Saturday evening.
The event, hosted by the Girl Scouts of Jefferson County, celebrated Mardi Gras at St. Mary’s Parish Center with purple, green and gold necklaces for each Daisy, Brownie or Scout, as well as mask-making and King Cake.
“This is a great, good experience,” said Donald Bradley, father of Brownie Lindsay Keen, 7. “Every father should experience it.”
Dads and their dates lined up out the door at times to have their photos taken. After their photo session, the Scouts and fathers were free to dance, create or snack as they wished.
Lauren Little, 7, a student at Woodlawn Grade School, said this was her second year to come to the Father/Daughter Ball.
Her favorite part of the ball is getting “to do artwork,” she said. She had a good time hanging out with her father, Mike Little, as well, though he said he’d been left dateless once or twice.
“She likes hanging out and dancing with her friends,” he said. “Dad gets ditched.”
Girl Scouts received a special Mardi Gras patch for attending the ball with their fathers, said Troop #645 leader Karen Ellis. The event was part pitch-in, as each Brownie or Junior was tasked with bringing some kind of snack or beverage to the ball.
David Stallons, father of Jade Stallons, 9, said the ball was a lot bigger than he expected it to be.
Greg Smith, father of Victoria Smith, 9, and Emily Smith, 5, said he was looking forward to hitting the dance floor with his daughters.
“They’re all dressed up,” he said. “Their mom made both of their dresses.”
Jeff Fernberg danced with his daughter Madison Fernberg, 8, in a sea of Scouts getting down to the “Cha Cha Slide.”
“I can’t dance,” he laughed. “Before we left, (Madison) made me promise I wouldn’t embarrass her.”
Wendy Rue of Centre Stage Dance Studio, one of the sponsors of the event, said it had been going on for about seven years.
She said it was created to encourage interaction between dads and daughters, because “There’s not a lot of things Girl Scouts can do with their dads.”
“It’s a couple hours so kids can feel special with their dads,” she said. “The younger ones may not remember, but the older girls can look back and remember this time with Dad.”
