Over the past six years, Christine McLeod has had the pleasure of creating treasured memories for scores of Squamish preteens.
As part of the École Les Aiglons parent advisory committee, McLeod has helped to spearhead the annual La Folie en Rouge dance, which has doubled in size from 150 École Les Aiglons and other local French immersion students to 300 children in Grades 4 through 6.
"Over and over again, what has made my heart so happy … is emails and messages from parents talking about the drive home, and talking about their child, who might be eight or nine, sitting in the car and saying, 'Mom, that was the best day of my life," McLeod told The Chief. "Everyone was just dancing, no matter how well they danced or not, and just having fun."
McLeod said the idea was initially inspired by community dances that were held on a regular basis for youth back in the day.
"It was a safe place for a Grade 6 kid to have this rite of passage, which is to have a fun, social night," she recalled.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a curveball at this year's plans, of course, but it hasn't stopped McLeod and Co., which will host the party via Zoom this Friday, Feb. 12.
Though there won't be that drive home this year, McLeod is confident that organizers have tapped into the right balance of what's made the in-person boogie successful — retaining the same DJ and dance instructor from years past — while avoiding trying to replicate elements that won't translate from the school gym to the living room.
"The magic of that gym and what it looks like and feels like, you can't do that when you're sitting on your couch looking at this through Zoom," she said. "It's really up to the individual families to take our idea and make it into something bigger."
Families are encouraged to order in dinner from a local restaurant, decorate the living room, and plug the laptop into the TV to boost things up. Of course, attendees should show up in red to fulfill the "en rouge" part of the equation.
In her own experience, McLeod saw kids become quickly familiar with Zoom and other platforms last spring when learning from home, so they can have fun with it during the dance.
"The kids are so tech-savvy that they can actually get creative with their Zoom background," she said.
Part of the advantage of going online this year is that organizers have expanded the event's reach, and they've invited students at all French schools in the province and all schools in the Sea to Sky. If it's a success, McLeod is open to possibly holding a hybrid event in the future even when the in-person dance in Squamish can resume.
Tickets are $10 per household and are available here.
Sales are currently capped at 100, with more than half sold as of Feb. 8. However, McLeod said the cap can be raised if that amount is met.
A portion of ticket sales will be donated the Sea to Sky Community Services Society's Foundry Squamish youth centre, which is set to open next year.
