Daddy-Daughter dance still set for Saturday

This weekend the Student’s Fund of Hope, with the help of community support, is transforming the Hope Elementary School gym into a land of sweets and magical delights for the first annual, free-will donation Daddy-Daughter Dance at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Organizers said that despite the recent bad weather, they expected roads to be clear and the event to continue as scheduled.

Open to girls ages 3 and up, the Candyland-themed event is set to have everything a little girl’s heart desires, including cotton candy and candy tiaras, says Stephanie Long, co-founder of the Student’s Fund of Hope.

“We are pretty excited to be able to do something like this in the Hope community,” Long says. “Our hope is that everyone can come and have a good time and escape the chaos of what life has been the past couple of years.”

Long says the Student’s Fund is hopeful this event offers an opportunity to slow down for the evening and enjoy each others’ company and create a little bit of magic along the way that is something not everyone gets to experience.

“I think the girls are going to be over the top excited and the dads might be more tired than the girls at the end of the night,” Long says. “That is the goal anyhow.”

Long says when fathers and daughters arrive it is her hope that they are overwhelmed with a real-life version of the iconic childhood board game, Candyland.

In addition to a bounce house, the gym will literally be a wonderland of all things sweet illuminated by rainbow lighting and soundtrack offered by Hope’s resident DJ Mike Asher. Long adds that 812 Photo Booth will also be on-hand to commemorate the evening in photo.

“We have a lot of life-sized decorations we’ve made and that have been donated that will make it feel special,” she adds. “The idea is that in Candyland there are the different worlds that you see. We are trying to essentially recreate those worlds with some sort of a fun activity.”

Onboard with the effort to make this event possible are several local businesses and individuals working hard behind the scenes, Long says, including cardboard cutouts of life-sized candies and lollipops donated by Zero Packaging Solutions. Sky Fitness and Knead for Sweets have teamed up to offer delectable delights that evening, including ice cream for the sundae bar in Ice Cream Land and cupcakes for the Cupcake Commons.

“There is not a chance we could do this without everyone stepping up,” Budd says. “There is no way it would have happened.”

Due to the popularity of this event, which nearly sold out in a matter of days after being announced in November, Budd and Long agree that this is one they are hoping to offer annually going forward.

Of the events the Student’s Fund of Hope has offered thus far, this one is particularly special, Budd says.

“My ultimate hope is that girls can leave making memories with their dads,” she says. “I think I hold this one a little bit closer to my heart, because I identify with the girls that need to have some time with their dad. I think this is such a good opportunity for them to make memories together and that is the goal.”