The color red was shining boldly at Brookhall Event Center in Blaine Feb. 11 as 80 couples gathered for an annual event organized by St. Paul in Ham Lake. Known as the Church of St. Paul Annual Valentine’s Dinner and Dance, it gave husbands and wives a chance to eat dinner together, then hit the dance floor for three hours to celebrate their marriages and stir a little romance.
The evening included a fun contest that mimicked a TV show from years ago called “Name that Tune,” and also featured music dating all the way back to the 1920s, in keeping with this year’s theme: Music Through the Decades.
The first event on the ballroom floor after dinner was an Anniversary Dance, in which couples came out to honor the longevity of marriages. While a song was played, the DJ would pause and instruct couples to step off the dance floor if they were married five years or less, than 10 years or less, continuing until only one couple was left. That couple was Dave and Mary Sund, who have been married 60 years.
Watching it all and joining in the celebration was the pastor of St. Paul, Father Jim Livingston, who brought a seminarian from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with him — Gerald Thornton, who attends The St. Paul Seminary and whose teaching parish is St. Paul in Ham Lake. This year saw maybe the highest number of couples ever, with organizers saying it may have had to do with the fact that the event did not take place last year or the year before because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A group within the parish called Couples in Christ organizes the event every year, with five couples working together to make it all happen. Valerie and Brian Amundsen have been involved for the last 12 years, and they think it has been going on for at least the last 25 years.
“People look forward to it,” Valerie Amundsen said. “It’s a special date night for couples.”
