YAC holds annual Daddy Daughter Dance

By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press 

The Copperas Cove Youth Advisory Council and the Parks and Recreation Department held the fifth annual Daddy Daughter Dance Saturday evening at the Copperas Cove Civic Center. 
Approximately 150 plus people attended the dance, with more coming in an hour after the dance started. 
This year’s dance marks the fifth time the dance has been held, having been canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Caycee Hauck, with Copperas Cove Parks and Recreation, said that over the years, the dance has kept growing and the age range of the daughters coming to the dance with their dads has increased, with more older girls coming in addition to the younger aged girls. 
This was the first year helping out at the dance for Youth Advisory Council member Radhika Amin, 11th grade. 
“It’s really great to see the dads come out and bond with their children, and it’s really nice for us to be able to volunteer at this event and create an event where children can bond with their dads,” Amin said. 
Tim Landers and his daughter, Allison, 9, have attended the dance each year since it first began, making the Daddy Daughter dance a tradition for the two. 
“We really enjoy spending time together,” Landers said. “We usually do this and then have a date at Applebee’s or something like that.”
Landers said that he thinks it’s important for dads and daughters to have the opportunity to bond this way so that daughters can see “what right looks like” and “showing them how they should be treated.”
“I think it’s really cool,” Landers said about Copperas Cove offering a dance like this. “I’m glad that I have the opportunity to come and spend time with my daughter and just have this alone time.” 
Terry Mathis attended the dance with his daughter, Callie, 16. The two had planned to go to the Daddy Daughter in Round Rock last month, but it ended up being cancelled. Terry searched for another dance nearby and came across this one. 
The dance was special for the two as it marked their first time attending the dance in Cove and the first time attending a father/daughter dance in general. 
“I’ve been deployed multiple times, and I’ve missed her birthdays, special days, and it’s always been something that we’ve always wanted to do, a daddy daughter dance,” Terry said. 
“It feels good,” Callie said about spending time at the dance with her dad. 
Aron Prichard attended the dance with his daughter, Censley, 3. This was their first year attending the dance as well. 
“Just to kind of hang out and spend the evening together,” Prichard said about why they attended the dance. “I feel like it’s good to have a healthy environment, with dads and daughters and everybody and it’s good to let the kids have fun. I love spending time with my daughter, so it’s another thing that we can share together pretty much.”
“I think it’s awesome, and I hope there’s more events like this,” Prichard added about the dance. 
The dance featured a candy bar, in addition to yummy treats such as powdered sugar Chex Mix, pizza, donuts, sweet and unsweet tea and more. The event sponsors included Raising Cane’s, Bush’s Chicken, Shipley Donuts, SWEAT at Cove Fitness, Domino’s Pizza and Camera Artistry. 
Tickets for the dance were available for pre-sale at $20 per father-daughter couple and $5 per additional daughter and $10 per additional dad, or $25 per couple at the door. 
The funds raised by the Youth Advisory Council will go towards next year’s dance. Additionally, the Youth Advisory Council has raised funds for the proposed dog park and funds to purchase barbeque grills and signage for the parks.