Mother-Son Dance Brings Hundreds to the Moon
By Keytron Hill
Outlook Writer
Fathers were put aside for the night as the tunes of Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars roared through the speakers of The Moon nightclub in celebration of the Fourth Annual Mother-Son Dance.
The Rotary Club of Tallahassee Southside hosted the event as a spin-off of its sister’s club event, the Rotary Club of Tallahassee Northside’s Father-Daughter Dance.
Patricia Griffin, a member of the Rotary Club of Tallahassee Northside was pleased to assist with the dance and said, “This is an opportunity to bring families together. The mother-son dance gives mothers an opportunity to part more into their sons and of course the father-daughter dance is unique in that it gives fathers a chance to make that impression and kind of set the standard for their daughters.”
The younger sons made their way to the dance floor to show off their moves, while their mothers pulled out their cameras, catching the moment and cheering them on.
Second-time attendees Yashica Squire and her two sons AJ Smith and Cameron Stinson decided to attend the dance for another year in hopes of gaining the positive experience they encountered the previous year.
“I really just look forward to dancing with my mom. It was pretty fun last year,” said 21-year-old Smith. Squire’s youngest son, 10-year-old Cameron admitted to looking forward to the performances.
The performances included the Dancelexic Ballroom dancers and the Rotarian Leon Jacobs Vocalist.
Throughout the evening, the music was paused and the dancing was brought to a halt while WCTV Anchor Shondra Knight announced the raffle ticket winners. Up for grabs included a 55’ flat screen television, a BJ’s gift card, a JCPenney’s gift card and a $50 gift card to Publix.
For the Rotary club of Tallahassee Southside, the dance was more than just a celebration, but it was also a fundraiser.
“All of the money we get here, we are doing things with it both locally and internationally. We are for a good cause,” said Primus Mtenga, the president of the Rotary Club of Tallahassee Southside.
Mtenga announced that the money made from the event would be going towards a youth camp. The two-week camp will be geared towards disabled kids that needs 24-hour care to give their caretakers a break.
In Tallahassee, there are six different Rotary clubs who all have the same mission and purpose.
“The mission is service,” said 10-year member Griffin. “It’s about giving back and we do projects that benefit International organizations as well as local projects, so it’s all about serving and giving back to the community at large.”
Some of the other projects include putting together thanksgiving meals for college students that aren’t able to make it home for the holidays and the fundraising of funds to help countries that are battling with the epidemic of the Poliomyelitis disease.
As the dance continued, it wasn’t long before the dance floor was filled to capacity and overflowing with mothers and sons of all ages.
Thirty-four-year-old Darryl Johnson and his mother were in attendance, proving that there is no age limit to spending quality time with your mother.
“We went to the father-daughter dance and my mom got the idea to bring me to this one. I believe this event brings us close together and gives us something to look forward to throughout the year,” said Johnson.
