First annual Fire Department Valentine’s Dance coming to Soda

Mark your calendars for February 14 (men—that’s Valentine’s Day this year…and every year).  Tigert Middle School in Soda Springs is the site that has been chosen for the first ever Fire Department Valentines Dance.  The location was chosen for its capacity, lighting, and sound system, but is being organized for adults and kids 16 and up.  Organizers are hoping to make the event as big as possible, and anyone who would like to spend a nice semi-formal night out is welcomed with open arms.

A few of the practical details—admission to the event is by donation, and funds raised will be used to cover expenses and potentially go toward the sponsoring agency, the Soda Springs Fire Department.  For this year, the Valentines Day themed destination for the funds raised is tentatively the purchase of flower pots and flowers to help add to the new Main Street for the spring and summer seasons.  

Dress for the event has been suggested as “Sunday.”  This phrasing was arrived at in discussion between Paul Gritton, Dan Squires, and Beth Cheirett.  Cheirett allegedly pointed out to the other two that the original choice “formal” meant something a lot more time-intensive for the average lady attendee than the average gentleman, or words to that effect.  “Nice enough to go to church in,” is the ultimate idea.

Cheirett, Squires, and Gritton all have experience with event organization, but they’ve upped the ante by adding the services of Jennifer Squires and Lanae Carpenter as decorators and planners alongside them.  Ryan Carpenter will be providing DJ services for the event, and a host of sponsors have offered a range of door prizes, raffle items, and other support for the event, which are listed at the end of this article.

The hope is that the event will become an annual one for the Fire Department, and serve as an anticipated community event on the calendar.  Gritton had the idea based on his own experience of moving to town around 20 years ago.  “I was hired to take pictures at a dance held at a building that no longer exists, and it was packed.  I wanted to bring something like that back and bring people together for a night,” Gritton said.

The idea evolved, and he realized that it would take enthusiastic organizational support, which is how Friends of the Library president Beth Cheirett became involved.  The idea of the Firemen as a natural fit for a fun, semi-formal dance has its own long cultural roots, and the process picked up enough inertia to keep rolling on from there.  The plan for this year is to see how the event goes, and then potentially look at other venues for next year if the demand is there.  The event is open to anyone who wants to attend (and is 16 or older), and the possibility of locating it in the in-progress Event Center in Grace as a truly county-wide affair is not out of the question.

While some undoubtedly already have Valentine’s Day plans (I’m looking at you early 20 year olds and Newlyweds for whom it’s a high-pressure holiday), a preplanned event where you can chat with your friends and neighbors and finally wear those shoes or that dress you can’t ever find a reason to wear might be a nice way to enjoy the day for the rest of us!  And while this was not officially confirmed, the fact that a Winchester XPR 300 Magnum Rifle is one of the raffle items certainly provides an incentive to the men out there to find those shoes.  Only attendees of the dance will be eligible to win.  

Other incentives include handcrafted bird houses by Bill Horsley, electric toothbrush from Soda Smiles, binoculars from Dave’s Tackle, a photo session from Shena Smith, a room from the Black Swan Inn,  gift card from Ireland Bank to Eruption Brewery in Lava, a $50  gift card from the Flower Box, and more.  Other sponsors include Itafos, CMC, The Idaho Enterprise and many volunteers.  It is likely that more sponsors will emerge as the event approaches and word spreads.  

So tell anyone you think might like a nice night out—7:00 p.m. on Valentine’s Day at Tigert.  Be there or be square.  Or be both, they’ll let you in anyway!