Celebrating Diversity and Family Bonds
Fathers and daughters come together in an extravaganza of culture, dance and bonding.
By Anna Zenk, Slideshow photography by Alexandra Huber
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Hurst area hosted a Father-Daughter activity as a celebration of the diversity and uniqueness of God's children. The event took place Sat. Oct. 7. Families were asked to bring a sampling of food from their heritage cultural background. They also brought items from around the world that were displayed as decorations. During the activity, they participated in traditional activities like Origami and dances from their cultures. These included the Waltz, Traditional Tongan, and Mexican line dance.
Susan Otteson, President of the Young Women organization, felt it was important to “give our young women and primary girls an opportunity to spend an evening with their father or close male figure in their family. These relationships need to be nurtured. A young woman needs a good male influence in their lives, setting an example of what they should look for [in a partner] when they are grown.”
Susan said she knew the event was a success when she “saw many happy faces as the girls spent time with their fathers or male family member. Good memories.” She personally enjoyed watching the father-daughter duo's learn to dance together.
Kirk Cannon and his daughter Mara. Image courtesy of Susan Otteson.
Kirk Cannon of Watauga attended the event with his daughter Mara.
"It was an amazing opportunity to spend time with my daughter,” he said. “We had so much fun playing games and learning dances. Good food too!
“Mara's favorite was dancing and playing the games. She was so excited to make new friends, she had to be reminded to finish her dinner. I was excited to see all the young people and their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and brothers.
Thank you to all those involved for making this happen! I can't wait until the next event."
If you attended the event and would like to receive a picture of your family, please email Susan Otteson at smotteson@sbcglobal.net.
To see upcoming youth events click here.
Anna Zenk serves as the Website Administrator for the Hurst Texas Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She’s a professional graphic designer. During her free time she works on personal design projects, blogs and enjoys bookbinding by hand.