The dance was put on by the City of Atascadero

ATASCADERO — Mothers and their sons headed to the Pavilion on the Lake for the city’s first-ever Mother and Son Dance on Friday, Jan. 31. After almost 20 years of the Father and Daughter Sweetheart Dance, Atascadero answered the request for a night of fun for moms and their boys. An evening for spiffing up and dancing the night away. The community was so excited about the event that it sold out, and every inch of the Pavilion was packed. 

“I’m giving the community what they’ve been asking for for the last couple of years. I thought, well, we’ll see if we can pull it off, and I think we did,” said Recreation Coordinator Ashley Zamora, who was in charge of putting on the event.

Mothers and sons of all ages filled the dance floor, and you could feel the excitement in the building as they lined up in their fancy outfits to take photos with the gorgeous backdrop that leaned into this year’s theme, “Love You to the Moon and Back,” complete with a large crescent moon. Zamora chose the unisex theme, which will also be used this week for the upcoming Father and Daughter Sweetheart Dance.

“I just thought it would look really pretty. I was just like an under-the-stars type of a thing. Very elegant was my mindset with it,” Zamora said about picking the theme.

Many of the sons in attendance have sisters who have attended the new dance’s predecessor with their dads for years, and you could see on their faces that they were excited to be there with their moms.

“It has been fun. My 6-year-old, almost 7-year-old, has asked me for this dance, [for the community] to have this dance, and I can’t control us having them,” said mother Kayla Hamman about her son Calvin. “Every year, he says, ‘can you please, please take me to a mother/son dance?'” This year, when it came out, he was so excited, and he has not stopped dancing. He’s been break dancing, balloon fight dancing with his friend, and enjoying all of it. It’s been really fun.”

Calvin saw that the dance was happening in the paper and he showed it to his mom with excitement before they bought their tickets. Kayla and Calvin were also there with their friends Rebecca Henderson and her son Levi.

“It’s been so fun. His (Levi’s) older sisters have gone for the last many years, and so when we heard about this coming out, we definitely got tickets, probably within the first few days,” Henderson said about her son’s excitement about the mother/son dance. “We went to dinner first and then we came and explored all the things, from the games to the dancing to the food. We’re having a great time.”

On top of the sweet photo ops and the fantastic DJ Manny Medina getting everyone out on the dance floor, there was also cornhole and other games for the boys to play with each other or their moms. Some mother/son pairs even expanded the night by rolling up in a limo.

“They’re taking advantage of what it’s supposed to be, you know, just a special night out with your kiddo,” added Zamora.

Danielle Angles was there with her almost 3-year-old son Warren and told Atascadero News how much fun it was to dress up together and head to the dance. 

“He has an older sister that goes to the Father and Daughter Dance, so he was excited to get to come out,” added Angles.

The Mother and Son Dance will return next year and will either take place the week before or the week after the Father and Daughter Sweetheart Dance, which always takes place the first weekend of February. Keep your eyes open for updates.

Featured Image: Mothers and their sons pose in front of the “Love You to the Moon and Back” themed photo opp at the first annual Mother and Son Dance on Jan. 31 at the Pavilion by the Lake. Photo by Rick Evans