At the 21st annual father-daughter dance at Wiscasset Community center Friday evening, Feb. 10, the girls got to dress in semi-formal wear, some looking like small, fairy tale princesses, and dads could wear their finest.

Wiscasset School Resource Officer Jonathan Barnes was there with daughter Amelia. This was their first time attending the dance. They enjoyed some time on the dance floor together. Shane Butterfield and daughter Oaklynn from Windsor were also attending for the first time, while Nathaniel Johnston and daughters Riley and Jocelyn from Woolwich said this was their 14th time at the event.

It was the third time for Wiscasset’s Ray Heater and daughter Willow. Ray told Wiscasset Newspaper he has been bringing Willow to father-daughter dances every year since she was 5.

Fathers and daughters enjoyed dancing the night away to upbeat tunes played by deejay Cedric Maguire. Dancers could take a break from the dance floor and keep their energy up by enjoying delicious treats. To help preserve the memory of the evening, many families had  photos taken by photographer Dave Cleaveland of Maine Imaging in the Senior Center.

Early in the evening, the line for raffle tickets was long. Event organizer Bonnie Blagdon said, “There are three small teddy bears for the random drawing. There is a large bear for the oldest girl and a small bear for the youngest. There is also a beer stein filled with candy for the father who has been coming the longest.” Over 100 girls attend the event each year, Blagdon said.

In an email, Blagdon told the Wiscasset Newspaper, there were about 127 girls and 93 dads at this year’s father-daughter dance. The youngest girl was Illy Safford, 23 months,  and Willow Heater was the oldest teen. The oldest adult daughter was Megan James, 34.

The longest attending dad was Josh Bailey. It was his 20th year at the dance.

Blagdon also said, patrons contributed to the spread of goodies; WCC provided most of them along with the prizes. This was Blagdon’s 21st father-daughter dance. “Out of all of the events we do, this is one of my favorites!”