The Marshall County Arts Commission (MCAC) is continuing an event that is quickly becoming tradition in the county with its annual Father-Daughter Princess Ball.
This year’s event is scheduled to take place from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park Convention Center. Tickets are $50 each, and include corsages and flowers for each father and daughter, as well as all activities for the evening. The sixth annual event will feature a full meal, courtesy of Chef Kelly Staples, as well as music provided by Majestic Sounds DJ, a photo booth and more.
It’s an event that Coordinator Candace Miller said has grown in popularity throughout the years, bringing about 200 participants — local girls and their father figures — out for an evening that many may never forget.
“The dads and daughters get to spend a very special night together that they wouldn’t normally get to do,” Miller said. “It’s decorated very beautifully. It’s just a really enchanting evening for the little girls especially, and I think it’s a really special night for the dads as well, simply because, as I said, they don’t get to do that typically, and they’re not going to plan something like that on their own. So, being able to just show up and walk in and be able to have everything included … it’s something that they’re probably never going to forget.”
Miller said the event does not target a specific age bracket, though music and lighting may be a bit overwhelming for very young children. Though most participants are pre-K through middle school aged children, Miller said she’d like to see older girls come, as well.
“We are encouraging even the older girls to come,” she said. “That’s not maybe typical, but we would definitely like to see some high-schoolers there with their dads getting one of those last opportunities in to have a special evening like that together.”
It’s something in which her own family participates each year. Miller’s husband, John, and their daughter Olivia have made a tradition since its inception.
“This is definitely something they look forward to every year,” Miller said. “John, of course he may not be a typical dad but he’s super excited about things like that all the time, and he wants to get a special — sometimes he even goes for a tux or something like that. So he goes all out and tries to match her dress and everything. And she looks forward to going to get a new dress if she doesn’t have one that’s appropriate, and shopping for that. She’s 14 now, and she’s still really looking foward to it, so she hasn’t grown out of that yet, and I hope she doesn’t. … Her little cousins too, I’ve got a brother-in-law that takes his girls, and they’re always like, ‘Are we going to get to go to the daddy-daughter dance this year? Are we going to get to go?’ So, they’re super excited too.”
The princess ball, initially the brainchild of Arts Commission member and volunteer Ann Riley, serves as a fundraiser for MCAC and its various projects. Tickets will remain on sale through Feb. 5 and may be purchased at the Children’s Art Center in Benton, Calvert City public library, Benton City Hall or by calling 270-748-7508 or 270-703-0304. Tickets will not be available at the door.
For more information, visit MCAC on Facebook.