By Steve Huffman
shuffman@salisburypost.com
LANDIS ó Hannah Stevens is an angelic-looking 9-year-old, a third-grader at China Grove Elementary.But don’t expect her to fib when asked to assess her father’s ability to cut the rug.
In a word, Hannah doesn’t mince words.
“Hannah, do I embarrass you when I dance?” asked Mark Stevens, the girl’s father.
Hannah hesitated not one iota.
“Sometimes,” she replied.
Hannah and her father were among the approximately 250 couples who took to the dance floor at the South Rowan YMCA Saturday night as part of the facility’s annual Father-Daughter Banquet.
Proceeds from the event benefit Invest in Youth, a program there at the Y.
Y officials said Saturday marked the eighth year of the Father-Daughter Banquet. They said tickets for this year’s event sold out, but there wasn’t a waiting list, an indication, perhaps, of the downturn in the economy.
In years past, not only did the event sell out, but those on a waiting list weren’t able to get tickets.
Mark Stevens said that happened to him and Hannah a year ago.
“This year, I bought ’em as soon as they went on sale,” he said.
Mark said that as far as his daughter was concerned, the highlight of the banquet was a balloon drop held at mid-evening. A huge cache of balloons was released on the gym floor.
Girls scrambled for the balloons, many of the young ladies proceeding to use their heels to burst them.
But a few ó Hannah, for instance ó took their balloons home with them.
“I thought she’d come out with one, but she must have come out with a half-dozen,” Mark said of the balloons his daughter was taking home.
Tommi Burgess, office manager for the South Rowan YMCA, said the age range of young ladies attending the dance varied greatly.
Some, she said, were as young as 2 or 3 and some as old as 18 or 19. There were also, Burgess said, a handful of grown women who attended the dance with their fathers.
“We’ve had some older daughters come in with their dads,” Burgess said.
Saturday’s event involved more than just a dance. Fathers and daughters also enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and the girls involved themselves with some crafts work.
Volunteers and caterers ó Waiter’s Choice Catering, Rose Photography, Dana Grubb, Rouzer Motor Parts, the South Rowan Junior ROTC, Jeremy Wilson and Kohl’s of Salisbury, included ó donated their services or performed them at cost so more money could go to Invest in Youth.
Burgess said some mothers showed up to take pictures of their husbands and daughters, but the women quickly exited after the photographs were snapped.
“We encourage them to leave,” Burgess said.
After all, this is a night where daughters dressed as little princesses for their fathers.
“It’s an opportunity for them to dress up,” Burgess said. “They really get into that.”