More than 400 people filled Lincoln Park – and later downtown streets – on Saturday afternoon for the fifth annual Dance Mile.
Dance Mile is a “family friendly, feel-good, social fitness event, according to event director Patrick Hackleman. It includes dance demonstrations, Zumba and more and culminates in a 1-mile, police-escorted, DJ-accompanied dance-walk through the Old Port, beginning in Lincoln Park and stretching along Pearl, Commercial, Union, Temple and Federal streets.
Part of the proceeds are donated to nonprofits. This year’s beneficiary is Girls on the Run. Hackleman said it was too early to know how much the event had raised for the group.
Since its humble beginnings, the event has grown into a touring event with stops planned for Boston and Colorado Springs later this year.
Heather Tremblay of Cape Elizabeth danced along Commercial Street with her daughter Lily, 3, on her shoulders. It is her third year of participating, she said.
“It is so much fun,” she said. “Where else do you get to dance in the streets with a huge crowd of people?”