Fourth annual Special Needs Dinner Dance coming to Jerseyville
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By Carissa Sitki
Submitted photo
Jersey County Sheriff Mike Ringhausen poses with attendees of a past year’s Special Needs Dinner Dance in Jerseyville.
The fourth annual “Rocking at the Ranch” Special Needs Dinner Dance will be bringing some excitement to Jerseyville this week.
This event will be taking place at the Jerseyville Legion, located at 492 West Fairgrounds Ave. in Jerseyville, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, May 20.
Previously, the dance was held at the KC Hall, but the event outgrew that space and the location was changed last year. Dinner will be at 5 p.m. and dancing will begin at 6 p.m.
The dance is put on by the nonprofit organization, Loving Life, that strives to do good things for the community, according to one of the organization’s members, Tammy Powell.
“We’re just a good group of people who want to help other people,” said Powell, “and our organization is growing.”
The local band, Backwoods Burden, will again be providing music for the dance.
“The kids really love them,” Powell noted. “They’ve performed at the dance every year.”
New to the event, this year, is the addition of an ice cream truck and root beer keg. The truck will be outside, but the band and the dance itself will be held indoors.
Submitted photo
Royalty from a past year’s Special Needs Dinner Dance. Crowned was King Billy Lott (left) of Jerseyville and Queen Samantha Kichline of Alton
There will also be a caricature artist in attendance which is something that the dance didn’t have in past years.
“I think the artist is going to be a lot of fun,” said Powell. “And I think everyone’s going to be excited about the ice cream truck too.”
Dinner will feature a taco bar from Opaa’s Food Management and Red Bird Salad, and there will be fruit from the Redbird Deli. Dessert will include various pies, cupcakes, and cookies. There will also be water, tea, lemonade, and rootbeer.
Name tags and tickets will be provided in the Legion, for the “Rocking the Ranch’’ King and Queen drawing, which will take place at 7 p.m. Attendees can place their name in the hat for a chance to be drawn and crowned king or queen for the night.
“We are so excited for this,” said Powell. “We appreciate all of the community’s help and the work everyone puts in. The number of volunteers grows every year and that’s so cool.”
The event is open to all ages and attendees must have a parent or guardian present. Loving Life also wishes to remind the community that this is a non-alcoholic event. Chaperones, volunteers, parents and/or guests will not be able to bring alcoholic drinks in from the Legion bar. Additionally, the dress code is casual and no formal attire is required.
To RSVP, contact Tammy Powell at 618-946-1989 and leave a message. She can also be reached by email at [email protected].
