As the Hope Lutheran Church Daddy-Daughter Dance committee found it harder and harder to round up volunteers for the annual event, organizers realized that pooling together resources from both Everly and Royal would be key to the event's survival.

Royal and Everly mothers came together in full force after realizing how important it was to have this beautiful event stay local. Since the last event was held at Hap Ketelsen Community Center in Everly, they decided to host the first dual-community dance at the Great Hall of Royal, flip-flopping the location yearly with next year's event to be hosted at Hap Ketelsen.

The Great Hall of Royal was decked to the nines last Saturday as handsomely-clad daddies, grandpas and guardians entered with their lovely princesses ready to party the night away together. Upon entry, each child received their own princess wand and a goodie bag filled with a glow bracelet and two gift certificates, one to Fridley Theatres and the other to Arnolds Park Amusement Park.

Guests then headed to the photo corner and had their souvenir pictures taken before moving on to the refreshment table to grab some theatre popcorn, deliciously decorated princess cookies and fruit cups.

Spirit Lake DJ Rob Catlin kept the music pumping so well that the dance floor was packed the entire night. From Disney favorites to pop hits and slow dances sprinkled throughout, the dads and guardians were pulled out onto the dance floor often to shake it with their little cuties. As always, favorites like "The Chicken Dance," "The Hokey Pokey" and "The Limbo" were huge hits among attendees.

The highlight of the evening was when two Spencer High School juniors, Taylor Monnahan and Kaylyn Bibler, came to teach a pair of dances. The first song was the upbeat "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. The pair did a brief run through tutorial for the crowd and then handed over the reigns to the guests, who did the dance along with great enthusiasm and pretty remarkable first-try accuracy.

The second song was the ballroom dance, which Monnahan and Bibler taught in their prom dresses to the tune of "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole. The sweet and slow dance was easy to learn and repetitive, yet beautiful in its simplicity as the girls grabbed their guests' hands and were twirled across the dance floor.

Nearly every "date" was on the floor for each song (whether they enjoyed dancing or not) to support their daughters and make sure they had the best evening possible.

Over 100 guests and 50 children attended the dance, making the night a huge success. All proceeds for the event will go towards local youth groups, the Hope Lutheran Church Food Bank, and youth programs at Clay Central/Everly Elementary School.

IESHA TOFT/SENTINEL-NEWS

The Limbo was another fan favorite.

Sponsors included: The Great Hall of Royal, Home State Bank of Royal, State Bank of Everly, Royal Telephone Company, Backroads Biker Leather Shoppe, Toft Electric Inc., AgState, Royal Lions Club, Evertek, Crown Clinics, Fridley Theatres, Arnold's Park Amusement Park, DJ Rob Catlin and pastry chef Lenah Meyer.