With a few hilarious antics and a lot of heartfelt sentiments, JR’s Barn put on an entertaining evening for its fifth annual Father/Daughter dance on Friday, May 3.
The event started back in 2018 according to JR’s Barn owner Renae Groskreutz and despite a brief break in 2020 due to COVID, the dance has received a well-received response from the neighboring communities. “We have typically had about 80 people attend this dance, but this year we only had 65 register which is still really amazing,” said Groskreutz.
JR’s Barn is typically a wedding venue and provides a number of beautiful scenic shots as the rustic charm of the space lends itself to an evening of companionship and love. Groskreutz and her daughter Amanda helped MC the event as they vocalized their amazement with so many families returning to the dance from the previous year. Amanda even joked how “so many kids have grown” since they had last seen them. The two kicked off the evening recanting what they enjoyed most about the event, and the obvious first thing was: “Dancing.” Both mother and daughter voiced just how important this event was to them because it offers an “opportunity for fathers and daughters to have some time together without any distractions. To see so many of you laugh, dance, and cheer each other on is what makes this event so special to us.”
After some brief introductions, a dinner was served by Infinity Catering that featured pork loin, chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and veggies, and sweet treats would be offered later. There was also a small concessions table that would provide hot chocolate, popcorn, pretzels, and much more. While the guests ate their food, Amanda introduced the first activity as a Father/Daughter version of the Newlywed Game where a variety of questions like “What’s your favorite color?”, “What does your daughter like to do outside?”, “In what ways are the two of you alike?,” and others would put the bond between father and daughter to the test, which had some heartfelt responses and some shock and awe from the little ones.
Amanda would also tell some stories about her relationship with her own father, Joel, like the time her dad “got me a dirt bike as a gift, and a couple of weeks later, he got himself a dirt bike so he could ride along with me.” She unveiled the dance had a theme of butterflies and informed the kids about a butterfly’s journey of being a caterpillar then wrapping itself in a cocoon for weeks then “becoming a beautiful butterfly.” She would also extend a huge thank you to everyone who attended the event and thanked the fathers for “having this amount of love and admiration for your daughters.”
After the meal, the dance broke out into a series of wacky activities with musical chairs showcasing both the competitive sides of fathers and daughters alike. In the end, the daughters were victorious in both games being played. Next, limbo gave many daughters a chance to show off their flexibility, while some fathers either embraced the challenge or admitted defeat before even attempting to limbo. A hula hoop contest soon followed to a medley of results, with the fathers seeming incapable of keeping the hoop in motion for more than a second. One of the final activities of the night involved absolute mayhem as three pinatas were prepared for the daughters to whack at with a stick. Some kids took great pleasure in unleashing their frustration on the butterfly-shaped pinatas, and it became a feeding frenzy once the contents inside poured out. One daughter seemed to have a cheat code as she snapped off the string holding the pinata early into the game…much to the amazement of everyone around her.
The evening ended with a well-earned opportunity for fathers and daughters to boogie on the dance floor with one final song allowing them an emotional embrace as the night drew to a close. It was another successful Father/Daughter dance at JR’s Barn and the Groskreutz mother/daughter combo will look to keep this tradition going for many more years to come.
