For the past five years, the coordinators of Night to Shine, Lancaster Collaboration have had to change the location of the event to accommodate an ever-growing number of guests. This year, they had to completely revamp the celebration, but it still offered a fun night out - and in.

The Night to Shine is an annual event sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation to give people with special needs a prom experience. Typically, it's an in-person event that pairs guests with a volunteer buddy for the evening, but this year looked a little different, said Joell Ketcham, event organizer. This year involved a two-night celebration, starting with a "Shine-Thru" drive-through event on Feb. 11 at the LCBC Manheim Campus, 2392 Mount Joy Road. The following evening, a virtual Night to Shine was held to allow guests to celebrate in the comfort of their homes.

"We had 195 guests registered for the event," Ketcham remarked. "Each guest received a name tag that was taped to their vehicle, so we knew who was in there, as well as a swag bag that was filled with snacks and treats as they drove the designated route."

Throughout the route, guests were greeted by a variety of costume characters, including Minions, Elmo, and characters from "Frozen," "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc." and more.

"Then they were announced on the red carpet, in their vehicles, by the (disc jockeys) from Fun 101.3," Ketcham stated. "The guests were then presented with a crown or tiara." At the end of the drive-through, guests received a meal to prepare on Friday night to enjoy during the virtual portion of the celebration.

"This was completely different than other years, but everything went beautifully, and the guests had so much fun," Ketcham noted. "They loved that everyone greeted them by name."

The celebration continued on Feb. 12 with an online party hosted by Tim and Demi Tebow. "We encouraged (everyone) to dress up however they liked and just have fun," Ketcham explained. "Some set their tables and dressed up, some were served by their parents or caregivers, some sat at the computer, some sat in their living rooms."

Despite the changes that had to be made this year, Ketcham said she was happy to be able to provide a celebration for the participants. "It was important for us to give them something to look forward to," she stated. "So many of our guests have missed out on so much due to COVID. I was glad we could provide something safe and fun for them."