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Community Corner

Ellington Girl Scouts Hold "Special Person and Me" Dance

The event raises funds to support Girl Scout programming in town.

For some, the “Special Person and Me” Dance hosted by the Ellington Girl Scouts has become a long-standing tradition. For others, the Feb. 10 dance at Windermere School was just the beginning of what could become tradition.

Daisy Scout Elise Whelan, dressed in a long white chiffon dress with a pink ribbon, a white veil and a corsage, sat at one of the cafeteria tables to create a Valentine's Day craft with her father, Tom.

Around her, other Ellington Girl Scouts and their special someones - dads, grandfathers, or other special men in their lives - and even a mom or two - stood in line for a souvenir photo, to share a snack, or create a craft. Down the hall in the gymnasium, the girls and their dates were dancing to Justin Bieber's “Baby," the “YMCA,” “Cotton-Eye Joe,” “Chicken Dance,” “Macarena,” or a special dance to Bob Carlisle's “Butterfly Kisses,” and “I Loved Her First,” by Heartland.

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“It's our first dance and our first foray into Girl Scouts,” said Tom Whelan, as Elise created a beaded heart craft. Tom is a co-leader of Elise's Daisy Troop. He helped his daughter thread the beads through the heart frame. “You feed it through here, then there - it's called weaving,” he told his daughter.

“She's been looking forward to this dance since it was announced,” said Tom, as Elise nodded.

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Center School Daisy Scout Hannah Grimes and her father, Tom, sat one table away from the Whelans, filling out raffle tickets for prizes, including a horse pillow pet, gift baskets, stationary, fleece blanket packages, a jewelry stand, and candy dispensers. Each filled out a strip of tickets to try their luck at a prize.

“We wanted to get our tickets ready before we go,” said Grimes, before deciding which prizes to try for. But Hannah knew exactly what she had her heart set on.

“I want the unicorn,” she said, referring to one of the prizes.

Madison Holden, a Junior Girl Scout at , has made the dance a tradition with her father, Jim. She has attended the dance since she was in kindergarten. Now a fourth grader, Madison said she does have a favorite memory of these dances.

“Usually it's dancing with my dad,” she said, as she glanced over at him.

The dance, a fundraiser for the Ellington Girl Scouts, raises money for events like the upcoming “Thinking Day,” which allows the the girls the opportunity to learn about scouting - or “girl guiding” - in other countries, the Girl Scout bridging ceremony, and an award for an Ellington Senior Scout in memory of former Girl Scout leader Anne Quinn.

The “Special Person and Me” dance has been taking place for more than a decade.

“I think it went well,” said Chris Keune, dance chairwoman. “I think all the girls and their dates had a good time.”

Approximately 100 Girl Scouts and their special someones attended this year's event, according to Keune.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Claire McMenamin, a Brownie at Center School. “This was my third dance.”

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