Disney World might be the most magical place on earth, but there is a place that is even more magical, PCH’s Dance Marathon, a place where dreams come true. This year’s Dance Marathon theme was Disney and hourly themes included princes and princesses, western (Toy Story), Pjs (Sleeping Beauty), and Dance Marathon shirts; these themes happen throughout the Dance Marathon event. The school and gym was set up with many Disney decorations, a photo booth, and different types of activities, such as bracelet making and bean bag games.
The Dance Marathon committee raised a total of $24,513.07, but their original goal was around $40,000, which was not met. Senior Ceci Tremont, an executive director for Dance Marathon, addresses the obstacles and challenges that caused the lack of donations and participation.
“There was a mixture of things that I think could have gone better, [such as] the fundraising approval from Guilfoyle, personal fundraising stuff. I think we just didn’t have enough concrete expectations. So that was difficult. Tremont said. And then stuff in the Parkway Central community, which caused people to have other priorities, which is obviously more important,”
The Dance Marathon was not unsuccessful though. Nicole Hewitt, one of the sponsors of Dance Marathon highlights everything that improved from previous years and what she thought went well.
“I thought it went more smoothly than last year; we’re improving every year. Things that went well, I think in terms of how the event was organized went really well” Hewitt said.
A possible big impact on this year’s Dance Marathon was the time change, typically this event is from 6 to 10 p.m., but this year, due to basketball districts the event was moved to 11 to 3 p.m.. Hewitt shares her feeling about the time change, and how that impacted the amount of people who showed up and how she would overcome that the next time around.
“I was very worried that people wouldn’t come because of that. We did have a smaller crowd. So I think in terms of our advertising of the event and what it stands for, we could work on that for next year,” Hewitt said.
Each event has their obstacles and highlights, but at the end when all the obstacles are overcome there are many things one could highlight. Tremont talks about what she enjoys the most at Dance Marathon.
“My favorite part is seeing the kids and their families during the event. When they tell their stories, it’s so special because you can really tell that this means a lot to them,” Tremont said. “Each kid has their own high school buddy that walks them around, and they do all the activities. They just look like they’re having so much fun with a bunch of high schoolers.”
Similar to Tremont, Hewitt also highlights her favorite part about this event and how much fun it is, she likes seeing the Mr. PCH contestants, they represent their club and raise money for Dance Marathon.
“I have to say, I love having Mr. PCH reveal at Dance Marathon. I think that’s really fun and that they come and help raise money for the cause and just find out who won that competition,” Hewitt said.
