Dance Festival

Do you remeber when the church used to have those great dance festivals at the Rose Bowl? Well, I got to attend another one Sat. night. I was lucky enough to have been in a dance festival in 1984 and it seemed like that was the last one I heard about, until recently. I still receive a newspaper which comes from the Upland area (LDS Trumpet) and it was announcing an upcoming dance festival which included the Chino Stake (my old stake when we lived in Diamond Bar). I decided I wanted to see if it was as GRAND as I remember it, so I sent for 3 tickets. I planned on Ray and Ryan going with me, but they had other plans, so I took Amy and Faith. It was at the University of Redlands, so only a 2 1/2 hr drive. But it was so worth it. There were 12 stakes, 109 wards involved. 3000 youth!!! It was great. The deacons did their own routine which was done with basketballs. The beehives did a couple of dances themselves and then the Mia Maids and Teachers did a couple of routines to Beach Boys music medley (the theme was "California Dreamin") The Laurels and Priests topped it off with some ball room type dancing to Disney music. Faith loved the whole thing and hopes she can do it when she turns 12. There were in-between shows on stages with specialized talent including polynesian dancers, a group of steppers, a young and rising country music sensation (I don't watch it but I heard someone in audience say she is on "Nashville Star" a reality show on TV) and two sisters who did a whole latina salsa dancing and singing routine. Then the finale was a total patriotic show with about 200 missionaires running in with first the 50 state flags as a chior sang Fifty-Nifty United States and then the others came in with the American flag and lined the outside of the field as the 3000 youth, now dressed in red, white or blue polo shirts, lined the field in the formation of the flag. It took a full 15 minutes to have all 3000 get on the field and that was with them running on. So they then had a slide show of actual military serving from those wards and then a moment of silence for 2 from those wards who had been killed in action. Then the whole patriotic music show began and ended with fireworks. It was beautiful. I'm sure it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for those kids who got to participate and something they will never forget.

Faith was so impressed, when we got in the car and started driving home, she had been quiet and we thought she had already fallen asleep (it wasn't over until 10:00 PM), but then she said, out of the clear blue, "thank you grandma for bringing me to this" And I am so glad I did.