By Naomi Hofferber
On the second floor of the IMU, Dance Marathon families are offered an escape from the hectic dance floor.
The family room has a Finding Nemo theme, complete with intensive decorations, main character cutouts, and large banners featuring key events from the film.
“It was before Finding Dory came out, and we knew the majority of the kids would be seeing that film,” Kelsey Schonhoff, chair of the programming committee, said. “We really liked the idea of Finding Nemo, my co-chair and I both had it on our ideas of themes.”
Other themes considered were Carnival and Zoo. When picking themes, the committee considers what could fill the large family room.
The room offers a place for children to play, complete with a costume dress up station, a bouncy house, a ball pit, a snack shack with popcorn, cotton candy, slushies, a prize table and a Nerf gun area.
Ruth Ruley, a Dance Marathon mother, said that the family room was good place for her and her daughter Adelyn to get away where it’s a little quieter.
“She can run and I don’t have to worry about it. In this room she’s safe,” Ruley said. “There’s always something for her to do. For her it’s the bouncy house.”
Along with providing an area for younger kids, the family room allows a space for parents to relax, get away, and connect with each other.
“I like to get away and sit and relax, and be able to interact with other cancer moms,” Kimberly Lee, a Dance Marathon mother said. “The boys really like the bouncy house and the prizes, they like doing the scavenger hunt and getting the prizes.”
The family room will be open to the families the full 24 hours of the event.