Cassidy Locke

On February 16th from 7-9 pm Interact held their annual winter pacesetters dance at the Wedgewood Country Club. This is a prom-like dance for the mentally and physically challenged adults from around Township.  They get all dressed up in prom attire and go The Wedgewood Country Club to dance and have fun. Each one of these turns out a large crowd, the members of interact love doing this event especially since they get to have some of the fun, dancing with the people. It is also very rewarding to see how happy participants get when they are letting go and having fun.

The Winter Pacesetter’s Dance is very different though from the Fall Pacesetter’s. This is a prom-like event with more formal attire and participants have the option of bringing a date or not. During this dance they have a dinner and they crown king and queen of the winter pacesetters. This year was one of the biggest they have ever seen turn out for this event, more than any years before. The Interact club has been doing this for three years. At this year’s Winter Pacesetter’s Dance there was a group that came to perform at the event. They’re known as the Camden County Bell Choir, they played the bells for the attendants at the dance, they played two songs and then they invited the members of the Interact club up with them to perform a couple more songs.

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to give these people a night out to have fun and let go and forget everything, it is really rewarding to see the smiles on their faces,” said Bria Diemer ’16.

There is also a Fall Pacesetters Dance that the Interact runs as well, that one is more of a Halloween dance than a prom, and the participants dress up in costumes for Halloween instead of the formal attire that they wear to the Winter Pacesetter’s. They still dance and get to eat candy.

Pacesetters was a success, this year was bigger and better than ever, from the food to the bells performance. Everyone danced the night away.

Interact is always looking for new members to come and help out at events like this. They meet everything other Monday. This club offers a ton to students who join, sometimes after school they will have snacks, there are plenty of events they hold that you could do with your friends. This club is also a great way to make friends, everyone is friendly and welcoming. To join all you need is to donate $5, most events are free to be a part of such as the Winter and Fall Pacesetter’s, the buddy walk and many more. The only one that costs money is Monzo Madness that is held in January.

“So come out and join, sign up for an event and see how exciting it is to be a part of a club like this,” said Michelle Salamoni ’17.