February 14, 2024 – The Clovis Veterans Memorial District hosted their annual Sweethearts Dance on February 4th and the turnout was immense as crowds gathered to listen and dance to live music played by the Red River Dutchmen.
According to the CVMD, the afternoon was “full of love and laughter” and was a tremendous hit.
This event started as a way to celebrate the Valentine’s Day holiday with the Clovis Community. With live music and dancing acting as the biggest motivators for coming to the dance, the community was treated to “Glenn Miller” era tunes.
The CVMD declared a big applause towards the “Veteran and Community Organizations for sprinkling their touch of magic” and helping to make their event successful. Some of those groups included Clovis American Legion Post 147, Blue Star Moms, the Club Marine Corps League, and VFW Post 3225.
As participants were able to bring their dancing shoes and dance the afternoon away, they also brought canned food and cash donations that will go into supporting other local service organizations such as the Central Valley Veterans food pantry, and the Boys and Girls Club of Clovis.
The free event was put into place by the Clovis Veterans Memorial District and ran from 2-5 PM while also giving partygoers the opportunity to socialize with local Veteran and community organizations present.
As with any CVMD hosted event, the large banquet room called the “Independence Room” played host to the dance, giving all members the opportunity to fit in.
With live big band swing music, members of the group not only danced with their Valentines, but danced with friends and family present, as according to the CVMD, the “jitterbug” and “jive” dances were brought back to life in a proper fashion.
The CVMD released a statement after the dance:
“It was an afternoon full of love, laughter, and the amazing sounds of the Red River Dutchmen! A special shout-out to the Veteran and Community organizations for sprinkling their touch of magic, making our event a huge success.”
“Our sincerest appreciation to all who made donations. Food contributions will be dedicated to the Central Valley Veterans food pantry, and monetary donations will be gifted to the Clovis Boys & Girls Club.”
That afternoon full of “love, laughter and the amazing sounds of the Red River Dutchmen” did however come to an end, with once again an announcement of appreciation to the Veteran and Community organizations that were there was made.
The CVMD hopes to continue this event in the future, as with the dance floor being filled this year, the hope is that it will be filled again next year. Time will tell if their love letters and live swing music will be enough to keep the love alive, but for this year, it sure appeared to do the job.