The event was a good opportunity to get some exercise and see family and friends.
The Social Dance, put on by the Ho-Chunk Nation Health and Wellness Division, was held on Friday, Dec. 21, at the District 1 Community Center.
“The Social Dance was a chance for the Health and Wellness Division to wrap up the year and celebrate our families that join us for our dance classes, our events and classes that we hold on a yearly basis,” said organizer Sara Peterson, coordinator for the Health and Wellness Division.
The event featured indigenous food buffet by Elena Terry of Wild Bearies, an ugly sweater contest, a “dance-off” competition between Santa Claus and the Grinch, a pedometer challenge, door prizes, and plenty of dancing. The group Ho-Chunk Station provided the music.
In the humorous dance-off competition, Jessica Artz portrayed the Grinch while Buster Cleveland played the part of Santa Claus.
“This social dance was the first that the Health and Wellness Team has hosted for quite some time. We feel that it is important to revitalize events like this in order to better support our communities and the families within those communities. We look forward to hosting many more in the future,” Peterson said.
“I would like to thank my staff for all the hard work they put in to make this event possible: Lyndsey Killian, Rachel Montana, Chris Frederick, Rebecca Krause,  Kathleen Clemons, and Jessica Artz,” Peterson said.
“A special thanks to D1CC for hosting our event and sponsoring the event with the gift certificates. Thank you Jean Stacy for assisting with registrations. Thank you Elena Terry and your crew for the amazing dinner. Thank you to our emcee Matt Mann, our host drum Little Thunder and our guest drum Ho-Chunk Station,” Peterson said.