Marion County Father-Daughter Dance
What the night is, what comes with your ticket, where to park, and what to wear. If you only read one thing before you buy, read the two notices below.
Dessert only. No dinner is served at the dance. Desserts and an ice cream cart are included with every ticket. If you would like dinner, a limited seated dinner is sold separately.
High school seniors and younger. This event is for daughters through their senior year of high school, attending with their father or a father figure.
The evening
Doors, dessert, photographs, and three hours of dancing. Come when the doors open if you want photographs without a queue.
Guests with a dinner ticket arrive first, through the side entrance at Expo 1, and are seated for the buffet before the main doors open.
Every daughter is given a corsage on the way in. Golf carts run between the parking areas and the entrance throughout.
The photo line forms early and stays busy. Dinner guests get first access; if you are not eating with us, going straight to the photographer on arrival is the shortest wait of the night.
Dessert tables and the ice cream cart open, the DJ starts, and a dance instructor runs a lesson early in the evening so there is something to pull each other onto the floor for.
A magician works the room and a craft station stays open, so there is somewhere to go when she needs a break from dancing.
The evening closes on the floor. Carts run again at the end for anyone parked at a distance.
Your ticket
One price, everything below. Dinner is the only thing sold separately.
Given to every daughter at the door.
Dessert tables and an ice cream cart, open through the evening.
A professional photographer set up for portraits on both nights.
Music all evening, taking requests.
An instructor runs a lesson early on, for anyone who wants it.
Working the room between dances.
Crafts and colouring, open all evening.
Running between parking and the entrance, both directions.
A seated buffet dinner before the doors open, catered and staffed by the World Equestrian Center. Seats are capped so the room is never rushed — once they are gone, they are gone.
Dinner is added to your dance ticket at checkout. It is not sold on its own — you need a dance ticket first.
Dinner guests enter through the side entrance at Expo 1, which will be signed on the night. Everything else about your evening is the same as everyone else’s.
Dinner tickets go on sale October 1, at the same time as dance tickets, and they go before the dance tickets do.
Add dinner at checkoutFood and drink
On the night
The World Equestrian Center is large and the dance is in Expo 1. Follow the signs rather than the main entrance.
Parking is free and on site. Golf carts run between the lots and the entrance all evening, in both directions, so park where you land rather than circling for something closer.
Dinner ticket holders have preferred parking.
Everyone: the main Expo 1 doors.
Dinner guests: the side entrance at Expo 1, signed on the night. Arrive there rather than joining the main queue.
Volunteers in the room can point you to the photo line, the craft station, or the restrooms. A first aid kit is kept on site — ask any volunteer.
What to wear
Most fathers wear a suit, or a jacket and tie. Most daughters wear a formal or party dress. Nobody is turned away for getting it wrong.
The one piece of advice worth taking: shoes she can actually dance in. Three hours is longer than it sounds, and the floor is the point of the evening.
Questions
High school seniors and younger. This event is for daughters through their senior year of high school. There is no lower age limit — plenty of the girls on the floor are in kindergarten.
No. The dance is dessert only. Dessert tables and an ice cream cart are included with every ticket. A seated buffet dinner is a separate, limited ticket added at checkout.
No. Dinner is capped and has to be booked in advance, and it usually sells out before the dance tickets do.
No. The World Equestrian Center caters everything on site and does not permit outside food or drink.
Whoever she wants to bring — a grandfather, uncle, stepfather, coach, or family friend. The event has never required it to be her father.
Yes. Each person attending needs a ticket, daughters included.
Either. Both evenings run the same programme with the same photographer, DJ, and activities — only the start times differ. Pick whichever suits your week.
October 1. Dance tickets, dinner tickets, and all sponsorship levels go live the same day. Both evenings typically sell out.
A professional photographer is set up on both nights and portraits are part of the evening. Dinner ticket holders receive one complimentary photograph and get first access to the line.
Formal. Suit or jacket and tie for fathers, a formal or party dress for daughters. Comfortable shoes are a good idea for both of you.
Tickets include a corsage, dessert, photographs, and everything on the floor. Add dinner at checkout if you want the evening to start earlier.
Open to daughters who are high school seniors and younger, attending with a father or father figure. On sale October 1.
FatherDaughterDanceOcala@gmail.com