ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — From the five- and 10-gallon hats of every color on many of the guests, to the red and blue bandannas at each place, it was clear that the PKZ Civic Center in Robertsdale had gone country in a big way.

The 200-plus attendees of the annual dance hosted by the George P. Thames Senior Citizens Center, and sponsored by Aseracare Hospice, Golden Living Center of Foley, and Eastern Shore Healthcare were having a great time with the shredded barbecued meat, rolls, veggies and dessert luncheon served to attendees. They sipped sweet tea from Mason jars, an item they were urged to take home as a souvenir.

The hall was decorated in a country style, with a large sign proclaiming the stage was the “O.K. Corral.”

The guests had an even better time dancing.

“We do this yearly,” said Summer Allen, a provider relations manager at Aseracare, adding that the theme of the dance changes each year.

“It’s a good event,” continued Allen. “People like to come out and enjoy themselves.”

“I like getting to see all the people,” said Jewel Campbell of Robertsdale. She added that the Robertsdale senior center, the George P. Thames Senior Citizens Center, was been named for her uncle. Campbell brought some of her great-nieces with her to help out at the party.

Cousins Kinley and Carson Campbell, both 8, and both Robertsdale residents, visit at the Robertsdale Health Care Center on U.S. Highway 90, “every week or so,” according to Kinley.

The best part is “getting to visit the people,” said Carson.

The girls were going to have plenty of dance partners.

Attendees were given a lesson in square dancing and there was plenty of line-dancing fun. Allen estimated that more than 200 people came out for the event.

The dance was another high point in Gus Utter’s life. The 80-plus-year-old Silverhill resident tried his feet at square dancing with hilarious results.

“I’ve got enough to do,” said Utter. “I picked blueberries this morning.”

But, the hit of the afternoon came when members of the George P. Thames Senior Center’s “Kazoo Band” took the stage.

Under the direction of Sandra Stillman, the band hummed its way through timeless hits like “Oh My Darling, Clementine,” “Red River Valley,” and “I’ve Been Working on The Railroad.”

“We came out to support the band,” said Hazel Raley of Robertsdale as she and her friend Lucille Britton of Foley applauded. "We came to be the cheering section for the kazoos.”

Raley says she was “born and raised” in Robertsdale, but spend a good part of her life in Bayou La Batre.

“We got socked with Katrina,” said Raley, who will be 80 in a few weeks. “I moved here a few months ago, and I have a lovely apartment. It’s nice to see everyone I knew.”

With the kazoo players safely seated, it was time to draw door prizes and get on with some serious dancing.

“We all come for the fun of it,” said Utter.