Dancing and participating in activities with his mother and friends, a young boy had the time of his life at last year’s Mother-Son Date Knight.
Toward the end of the event, he was pleasantly surprised to receive a prize.
“He had the best time with his mom. He didn’t need to get the $5 book that he won,” event organizer Heather Chase said.
That’s one of the reasons why she started the dance three years ago and decided to give it another go this year.
The third annual Mother-Son Date Knight is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 24 at Girls Inc. of Jackson County, 956 N. O’Brien St., Seymour.
Following a “knight in shining armor” theme, the event is open to mothers and sons of all ages and features dancing, disc jockey entertainment, photos of mothers and sons, refreshments, games and giveaway items.
Advance tickets are $10 and may be purchased from Chase, Amy Peters or Tiffani Calhoun through Tuesday. Tickets are $15 at the door, and Chase said only around 50 may be available. People also can reserve a table of four or six for $25.
All three women can accept cash or check, but only Chase can take debit or credit cards through PayPal. After emailing [email protected], Chase will respond with an invoice.
Again offering their services for free are disc jockey Josh Clark with Music in Motion and photographers Ernie and Janet Davidson.
Dancing and refreshments will be in the main room at Girls Inc., while activities separated by age group will be available in the gymnasium.
The giveaways will be different this year. Chase said in years past, they focused on making sure every child received a prize. That, however, resulted in some kids getting better quality prizes than others.
So this year, they are focused on larger prizes to be given away in a drawing.
“The idea surrounding the dance wasn’t so that you could go and get some prizes,” Chase said. “It was so you could go spend time with your mom dancing or talking to your friends or stuff like that.”
While not every child will receive a prize, they all will take home a goody bag courtesy of the Seymour Police Department and its Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
Chase said she will accept donations for the prizes up until the day of the event by calling 812-569-0112. Donations are needed for mothers and boys.
As for what to wear to the dance, there is no dress code.
“If you want to wear your blue jeans and T-shirt or you want to go out and get a formal dress, it is anywhere in between,” Chase said. “I would say 85 percent of everyone is business casual, and everybody else kind of falls along the other lines. We don’t turn anybody away because they don’t have a formal dress on.”
Chase has only advertised the dance on social media, and she has sold tickets as far away as Madison, Hanover, Bedford and Versailles along with people in Jackson County.
Between the inaugural dance and last year’s event, attendance grew from 200 to 280.
Proceeds go to the Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108’s Cops and Kids program, which allows children to shop with local law enforcement officers for presents at Christmas.
In 2017, a record was set with 145 kids from 69 different families receiving presents.
The organization collected nearly $20,000 through fundraisers, including a car show and sales of ice cream floats during the annual Scoop the Loop event in downtown Seymour.
Along with Mother-Son Date Knight, Cops and Kids also received financial support from the Seymour Area Cruisers, Centra Credit Union and Centra Foundation.
“Hand in hand, we do these three major things throughout the year, and we could not do it without the support of the FOP,” Chase said of the dance, ice cream floats and car show. “The FOP president, C.J. Foster, I love that when I approached him with this idea (of the dance), he has been so receptive and so helpful with me. He has been wonderful.”
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What: Mother-Son Date Knight
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 24
Where: Girls Inc. of Jackson County, 956 N. O’Brien St., Seymour
Who: For mothers and sons of all ages
Cost: $10 per person in advance through Tuesday or $15 at the door; contact Heather Chase, Amy Peters or Tiffani Calhoun if paying by cash or check; email [email protected] to pay by debit or credit card through PayPal; tables of four or six may be reserved for $25
Features: Dancing, disc jockey entertainment, photos of mothers and sons, refreshments, games and giveaway items
Help out: To make a donation for giveaway items, contact Heather Chase at 812-569-0112
Proceeds: Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108’s Cops and Kids program
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