By Chad Koenen

Publisher

As most of their friends were enjoying the last few days of Christmas break in the snow, rain and cold, six local dancers were performing with nearly 1,000 people from across the country in sunny Florida.  ¶  The six dancers, which includes two students at Henning School, are all part of the Parkers Prairie Just for Kix program. The group has been raising money for the past two years as they prepared for a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform at the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Fla. on New Year’s Day. The group danced prior to the start of the game and at halftime.

“I just thought it would be fun,” said Parkers Prairie Just for Kix director Kristie Kies. “How many people can say they performed at a bowl game.”

While Just for Kix provides the opportunity to perform at the bowl game each year, the Parkers Prairie program has not sent a dancer to perform at the game since 2011 when Henning-native Riley Moen performed with several other dancers at the bowl game. 

The local group of dancers typically practices each Friday night at the Trinity Center in Henning as they prepare for the unique opportunity to not only attend a major college football bowl game, but be a part of the festivities.

“It is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Henning School eighth grader Jalena Loder of the opportunity to dance at the bowl game. 

The group arrived in Tampa, Flor. on December 28 and spent the better-part of a week in the Sunshine State. The culmination of their week in Florida came on New Year’s Day when the group performed prior to the kick off and at halftime with several marching bands at the ReliaQuest Bowl between  LSU and Wisconsin (the game was formerly known as the Outback Bowl). The attendance at the game is usually in excess of 45,000 and is typically the first game to kick off during the busy slate of New Year’s Day bowl games each year.

  Even though the dancers will be practicing for several hours each day there will be plenty of time for group activities and excursions. That includes the opportunity to go on a dinner cruise, visit Busch Gardens, the beach, Disney World and even Harry Potter land in Orlando. 

Ashley Wendland, who is a freshman at Henning School, said she was looking forward to the entire experience in Florida.

“Just the whole thing,” she said.

In addition to Loder and Wendland, Teagan Runge, Sabrina Aldridge, Taya Arvidson and Delia Trebugge will represent the Parkers Prairie Just for Kix dancers at the bowl game.

In order to fund their trip the group has spent the past two years raising money to pay for the approximately $2,000-3,000 trip to Florida. The group received several major sponsors including from Parkers Prairie Sportsman Club, the Panther Booster Club and RDO Equipment. They have also raised money on their own over the past two years to fund their trip to Florida. 

This year’s ReliaQuest Bowl aired on ESPN 2 and featured the LSU Tigers from the SEC and Wisconsin Badgers from the Big 10.