News Article

“Magical Memories,” the first Gonzaga University Father-Daughter Dance, will run from 6:30-9:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3 at the COG on the Gonzaga campus. The event for all area fathers and father figures and their princesses, age 3 and older, is expected to sell out quickly.

The event includes a corsage for each daughter, a hot fudge sundae buffet, dance music provided by a professional disc jockey and a magic show — all for $30 per couple with an added $12 for each additional daughter. Three 5-by-7-inch professional photos also will be available for each father-daughter at a cost of $12 per couple.

The event, which is open to the public, is an opportunity for fathers to create lifelong memories with their daughters, plus model for them how they deserve to be treated by young men. Gonzaga hopes to make the dance an annual event.

This year’s dance will benefit the Gonzaga University student club Engineers Without Borders, which is raising funds to travel to Benin, W. Africa this summer for an interdisciplinary educational and relief effort involving faculty and students from the disciplines of nursing, language, engineering and broadcasting. The EWB students will implement their senior project, a water purification system that will provide rural villages with clean healthy water using local, cheap and renewable resources. The project is expected to have a significant and lifelong positive impact for the people of Benin and for the Gonzaga students and faculty on the trip.

Lynn Krupski, of Olympia, whose son is a Gonzaga student and a member of EWB, is spearheading the event. Krupski said the annual father-daughter dances in Olympia have been overwhelmingly popular – so much so that two dad-daughter dances are now held annually.

“This is going to be a celebration of fathers and the special young ladies in their lives, their daughters,” Krupski said. “We have an incredible evening of entertainment, music, fun and special memories planned. Girls of all ages are very welcome.”

Tickets go on sale Jan. 19 through Feb. 2. The tickets can be purchased at Banner Banks in Spokane or by mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope to GU Father-Daughter Dance, G.U. MSC 2470, 502 E. Boone Ave., Spokane, WA 99258. For more information, call (509) 324-5086.