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Arts & Entertainment

PHOTOS: Father/Daughter Dance Begins, Ends with Aloha

Greendale Park and Recreation's 12 annual Father/Daughter Dance sported a Hawaiian theme.

There are three meanings for the Hawaiian word aloha: hello, goodbye and love. On Friday, March 31 some lucky girls had a date night with dad, grandpa, uncle, or brother during the Greendale Park and Recreation’s 12th annual Father Daughter Dance.  

The girls experienced all the meanings of aloha with their dates and were also treated to a special free hula lesson.

This year, 22 families signed up, many with two sisters, one for each of dad’s arms. John Gnadt looks forward to this date night with his daughters every year.

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“We’ve been coming about four years now and it’s just awesome,” Gnadt said.

Jim Bohn and his 9-year-old daughter have been coming since the first dance in 2001 and have made a group date night out of this event.

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“A bunch of us all go out to eat somewhere and then come here,” Jim Bohn said. "She was looking forward to this for awhile,” Jim said. “She gets to hang out with her friends and dance.”

The dancing is one of the most memorable parts for many of the dads.

“There’s good music and I love the slow songs,” Gnadt said.

During the slow songs, many girls stood on their dad’s feet to dance, or simply were picked up and held close. The dads took time to tell their daughters how special they are or even sing to them.

Greendale Park and Recreation Director, Jackie Schweitzer, loves watching the families spend time together.

“It’s awesome watching the bonding that goes on while they’re working on frames or dancing,” Schweitzer said. “I just love watching them create memories."

Jim Brown brought both of his daughters out for a night they won’t soon forget.

“My favorite part is dancing with my sweethearts and getting to spend time with them,” Brown said.

Brown’s 8-year-old daughter, Madelyn Brown, echoed his sentiments.

“I like the dancing, but my dad dances silly,” Madelyn said as she demonstrated some 80's and 90's dance moves.

Her sister, 9-year-old Kayleigh Brown agreed, but gave her dad a little more credit.

“Well he dances good,” Kayleigh said. “It’s fun to go out with dad because he always has to work a lot.”

Busy lifestyles may not always allow for as much one-on-one time to be spent within families these days. That’s why many of these dads made sure they put this night aside to do what their daughters like to do.

Jon Koeller and his 6-year-old daughter, Marianna Koeller, hit the dance floor all night.

“My daughter really loves dancing,” Koeller said. “She’s looked forward to this for months.”

While next year’s theme has yet to be decided, participants are sure to walk away with something to remind them of their night.

“I had a dad in the office last week whose daughter is now too old for this program,” Schweitzer said. “He commented on how he still keeps the picture frames in his office. That’s special.”

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