Pomona, CA — On Nov. 29, a red carpet Daddy-Daughter Dance filled the Metro Event Center in Pomona as dozens of fathers and daughters arrived in formal wear, celebrating family, community and creativity at the inaugural event launched by LionLike Mindstate and its community partners.
People began arriving around 1 p.m., dressed for a banquet-style afternoon designed to highlight fatherhood and create whatorganizers described as “core memories” for young girls in the Inland Valley.
According to organizer David “Judah 1” Oliver, about 40 people registered for the event.
The dance represents a community event held through a partnership between several local creatives, including Oliver, co-founder ofLionLike Mindstate, and hip-hop artist and producer Chris Carpenter, known professionally and artistically as Seefor Yourself.
Carpenter spoke about his own experience attending a daddy-daughter dance years earlier while living in Texas.
“It’s just a core memory that we both have,” he said of attending with his daughter, explaining that he and Oliver wanted to offer the same opportunity to families in Pomona and nearby communities.
Carpenter said the partners plan to offer additional cultural and educational programming, including classes in schools and future family-centered community events.
He emphasized that their goal is to create spaces that reinforce unity.
“A lot of things out there are divisive, but we want to bring people together,” he said.
Oliver said the group hopes to host the dance twice a year and eventually organize one near Father’s Day.
As longtime artists, he said, they wanted to create a space where they could celebrate both their creative culture and their children.
“We should do something with our kids to honor the unit and to honor the actual culture,” he said. “That’s how you push your culture forward. You bring the next generation with you.”
The afternoon included a menu served at 3 p.m., featuring salad, chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, fries, bread rolls and colorful non-alcoholic mocktails.
Around 3:45 p.m., fathers and daughters formed a Soul Train line.
