The Cowichan Lake 50+ Activity Centre was hopping Saturday night, Feb. 11, as a capacity crowd enjoyed the facility’s first-ever Seniors Sock Hop.
Tunes like ‘The Twist’ and ‘Sixteen Candles’ resounded around the hall as entertainer Andy McCormick delivered just the right music for the gang, who showed up in traditional sock hop gear.
There were plenty of poodle skirts and blue jeans rolled up high. One man wore a black Elvis-style wig, and another had a deck of smokes rolled up in his T-shirt sleeve.
Huge posters, painted by Lou Stoddard for the old Red Hat sock hops, were displayed around the room and old records hung from the ceiling.
The kitchen staff added to the atmosphere, dishing up overloaded hot dogs to enthusiastic dancers.
Old friends gathered from across the south Island to enjoy the evening and Al Hall of Lake Cowichan got the surprise of his life when family members showed up to help him celebrate his 70th birthday at the dance.
“He didn’t know anything about it,” said his wife, Janene Holowka. “I made poodle skirts for the girls but I had to do it on the sly.”