Tickets On Sale for the Local Valentine Dinner Dance Party

By Misty Cryer

The Age Friendly Committee of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is hosting the fourth annual Janell Whitlock Valentines Day Dinner Dance Party on February 8. The event consists of dinner and dancing to music from the 50s and 60s, with the highlight of the evening being the crowning of a King and Queen.

In 2024, Garth Grizzle and Corina Yrigollen were chosen as King and Queen at the Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance Party. They will be returning this year as Mr. and Mrs. Grizzle. “We had been dating five years, and we got married just in June,” Corina said.

When asked about her favorite part of the event, Corina said, “It was fun to get dressed and go somewhere—there were a lot of people. It just makes it more fun, I think. We ate and then danced the rest of the night. The outcome that we won was really special,” said Corina.

Corina said she is originally from here and that Garth is from Littlefield, TX.

“I was with the Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservative Service,” said Garth. “I finished up my career here in Carlsbad. When I retired, I stayed,” he said.

When asked if they were excited to go to this year’s event, Corina said, “Yes, we are.”

Garth said, “Well, some of us are.” He added, “We’re all adults, and that Valentine stuff—that’s kind of high school.”

Laughing, Corina said, “We have friends that are going, and the men don’t want to go, but the women do. It’s pretty funny because I tell our friends, ‘Oh, we get to wear pretty dresses,’ and the men just roll their eyes.”

Corina said that, as a couple, she and Garth go dancing often. “In fact, that’s how we met. I work at the Senior Center—it’s called Alejandro Ruiz Senior Center—it used to be the San Jose Senior Center. I’ve worked there now for 10 years. Garth came in to dance, and that’s how we met—we just kept on dancing.”

Both Garth and Corina said the food was good last year.

“It was a pasta dish,” said Corina.

“Bad Bass (BBQ) is the caterer this year. We decided on a chicken entre, then they’ll have green beans and mashed potatoes. I think their specialty is peach cobbler, cherry cobbler, and apple cobbler,” said J.W. Sutphin, Director of Retirement with Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a full meal. They always do a good job,” he said.

“As soon as we clear the food, we’ll start with the DJ. He will be there the whole night, playing in the background during dinner, Sutphin said. “We’ll clear the dance floor, and he’ll start playing music. We turn down the lights, and they are out on the dance floor ready to dance.”

DJ Ornelas will be playing at the dinner dance party.

“50s and 60s music that most of them grew up on—the senior centers minimum age is 40 to join—so this is basically a 40 and over dance,” said Sutphin. He said there will be younger people there, including caterers, volunteers, and Chamber Ambassadors.

“We will have a special King and Queen Committee. They will go through the audience to determine who they think should be the perfect couple for the king and queen,” said Sutphin. “Last year, we narrowed it down to three, and we actually had those three get out on the dance floor, and the audience actually were able to pick the king and queen,” he said.

“They voted, all the people that were there —and we got most of the votes, I guess,” said Corina.

“They won hands down. Those two together on the dance floor were entertaining for all of us. They were pretty special,” said Sutphin about Garth and Corina Grizzle.

“I’ve been on this committee before. We’ve done it different ways—the first year was the longest couple that had been married—we had everyone write down a story the next year about how they met, and we decided from that,” Sutphin said.

Sutphin said that this year’s event sponsors include Carlsbad National Bank and Financial Security Credit Union. He said Carlsbad Radio will help spread the word about the event in addition to flyers being placed around town.

The Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance Party is a tribute to a long-term community leader, the late Janell Whitlock. It will be 6-10 p.m. on February 8 at the Pecos River Village Conference Center at 711 Muscatel Avenue. Tickets are $30 per person and can be purchased at North Mesa Senior Center, Alejandro Ruiz Senior Center, or the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.