By Andy Furman
Point/Arc
It was perfect. Valentine’s Day and The Point/Arc.
The 52-year-old non-profit based in Covington made this year’s Valentine’s Day even bigger for the students and residents who attend The Point/Arc — with a dance.
Make that a Sadie Hawkins dance.
“Yes, it was perfect for the occasion,” said Regina Watts who doubles as Activities Director as well as IT Manager for the organization.
And it was a perfect night with the Gardens of Park Hills (1622 Dixie Highway) filled with music, laughter and a group of individuals sharing a fun time.
A Sadie Hawkins dance, or turnabout, is an informal dance sponsored by a school, college or organization in which the ladies invite the gentlemen to be their dates.
“I’m not sure how many ladies invited the men as dates,” laughed Watts, “but I do know they loved the party.”
The Sadie Hawkins dance is named after the Li’l Abner comic strip character Sadie Hawkins, created by cartoonist Al Capp.
In the strip, Sadie Hawkins Day fell on a given day in November, in which the unmarried women of Dogpatch would chase the bachelors and “marry up” with the ones that they caught.
The event was introduced in a daily strip that ran on November 15, 1937. By 1939, Sadie Hawkins events were held at over 200 colleges, according to Life magazine.
The The Point/Arc began in 1972 as a support group for parents of individuals with intellectual and developmental (I/DD) disabilities.
“We have grown to an holistic agency with a wide range of around-the-clock programs for more than 1,400 individuals with a variety of disabilities, from autism to down syndrome to many one of a kind diagnoses,” said Founder and President Judi Gerding.
“It is our mission to fill in the service gaps and help individuals with I/DD live their dreams and become inclusive members of the community.”