Things have been pretty busy with our family lately as there has been a lot going on so the blog has been on the back burner.  We have also been busy planning our celebration dance which took place last weekend at Annandale Golf and Curling Club in Ajax, Ontario.  The focus of the night was to celebrate Evie’s Life Changing Journey (so far) as well as thank our supporters and demonstrate how SDR changes lives.  Many of our friends, family and supporters came out and celebrate we did!

When Evelyn first got accepted for SDR, we knew we wanted to host a dance event as one of our main fundraising initiatives as Evie LOVES to dance!  We looked into various locations and really liked Annandale.  It was close enough to home and not far from the highway.  We also knew we wanted to have a live band.  We started collecting prizes for our events with the help of some amazing friends and I think we managed to secure some really nice items for both the dance and our Evie. Set. Go! fundraiser which was back in January.

Fast forward a few months and the date of the big dance arrived!  Evelyn was just over 2 months post-op when originally she was going to be 2 months pre-op (so thankful she got to go for surgery earlier).  When Evelyn first came into the venue her eyes were big and she had a huge smile on her face.  She had been talking about the dance for days, if not weeks and was SO EXCITED!  From the moment that music started to when we shut it down just after 11:30pm, Evie (and Wes) did not stop dancing and having a great time.  Both kids were very well behaved and had so much fun!

As guests arrived at the event, their ticket was entered into a draw for door prizes (we had close to 20).  We also sold raffle tickets and quilt tickets.  We had raffle prizes ranging from gift certificates to jewelry to baby items to books to gym memberships to pottery.  Something for everyone!  Thank you to everyone who donated.  We really appreciate it and those who won the items were thrilled!

During the evening we also had a light dinner of caesar salad and pizza which was provided by Annandale.  We also served a vanilla and chocolate cake with an important message.  Everything was delicious and there was plenty to go around.

 

We also set up a little photo booth where guests could dress up and hold signs cheering Evie on.  It is always fun to dress up and be goofy and the kids enjoyed it!

 

The band was called DEUCE and they were terrific!  Not only were they talented and played great music (Rock and Pop hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s) but they also accommodated some of our music requests.  As we were expecting several children  (not their usual crowd), we wanted to incorporate some of their jams into the DJ parts of the night.  Jay from the band added songs from Moana, Splash N’Boots, Frozen and a few other requests that the kids like.  The kiddos seemed to enjoy dancing and playing with the balloons.  DEUCE also let us use their microphone to make announcements and they even let Evie say a few words.  She was adorable and nothing was rehearsed!.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the highlights of the night for me was sharing a video we made about Evie’s journey in St. Louis until now.  We have seen big changes in her since day one and wanted to share just how much this surgery has already changed her life in only 2 months! Thank you again to everyone for helping us make SDR happen!!

 

It was a fun night! Thank you to everyone who bought tickets to our event, attended our event and donated items for our event.  Our goal wasn’t fundraising but we did manage to raise some funds that we will pass onto others who are on their own SDR journey.  It is nice we will be able to help someone else on their own life changing journey!

Evie. Set. Dance! was a success and we can’t wait to see what our warrior does next!