CARIBOU, Maine — Hundreds of tuxedo-clad fathers brought their well-dressed daughters to the Caribou Wellness and Recreation Center Friday night for the city’s annual “Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance.”
The 7-9 p.m. event featured music from “Music X-Press” and photography services from “Photos by Duane,” a local photography business.
Caribou Parks and Rec Director Matt Bouchard said the city sold 253 tickets and made $1,265 from the event.
Over 600 people came out to the Caribou Wellness and Recreation Center on Friday night for the “Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance,” an event the city has held for more than 30 years. (Christopher Bouchard)
Bouchard added that since many fathers brought multiple children, and that mothers often came along to take pictures, the total attendance was likely somewhere between 600 and 700, but “at least 600.”
In addition to photos and music, volunteers offered cake and punch (donated by Hannaford), and three prizes were raffled off, all of which included two tickets to the Caribou Theater and a $30 gift certificate to a local restaurant.
Marketing and Events Director Christina Kane-Gibson said it was a truly “heartwarming event,” and that the hundred plus attendants were “all smiles” for the entire night.
Kane-Gibson, a Caribou native who recently moved back to the city to become the events director, said this is the first father-daughter dance she’s attended since her father took her as a child.
“I had my 5-year-old son with me,” she said. “He wanted to come and sell tickets. He looked at me and said, ‘Mom, the girls look so beautiful!’ And it’s true, they all looked adorable. Everyone who came through was dressed up to the nines; their nails were painted, they had makeup, their hair was done. Everyone was all smiles, and that’s what it’s really all about.”
Cars packed the recreation center parking lot, just half an hour after the event commenced, with many late comers having to park behind the building or down the road.
Kane-Gibson said it was a “full house” and that she and other city staff “heard so many good things” from guests during the event.
“Everyone was dancing and just had a really good time,” she said. “I heard they went out to dinner in town afterward and made a real night of it.”
“This is one of the most popular events that we hold,” said Bouchard. “Folks were dancing and having a good time. I didn’t hear any complaints from anyone.”
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- Over 600 people came out to the Caribou Wellness and Recreation Center on Friday night for the “Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance,” an event the city has held for more than 30 years. (Christopher Bouchard)
