Food trucks, fundraising and festivities will all be for the kids Friday.
Dance Marathon at UF and Cymplify Central will host the Food Truck Rally to benefit UF’s Health Shands Children’s Hospital and Gainesville’s Children’s Miracle Network. The fundraiser will be held at Cymplify, located at 5402 NW Eighth Ave., from 6 to 10 p.m.
The event is free, but Dance Marathon team members will collect donations. Cymplify will also donate 10 percent of its store sales and 20 percent of its ice cream store sales.
While listening to live music provided by Gainesville Latin band Ramos Pinta, guests can feast on food from food trucks, including Humble Pie and Mobsta Lobsta.
Dance Marathon Public Relations Director Melissa Dukes, 22, said miracle families will share their stories at the event.
“We just want to make this a place where families and students from all ages can come and enjoy a wonderful evening at Cymplify and enjoy the music and the food and learn more about Dance Marathon,” she said.
Guests are encouraged to wear anything that shows holiday spirit at the holiday-themed rally Friday. A free shuttle service will run every 10 minutes to take people to and from parking at Buchholz High School.
“There’s something for everyone to get involved with in terms of Dance Marathon, so I think that this is a great way for us to introduce people to Dance Marathon and show them why it’s worth investing their time and/or finances in it,” Dukes said.
UF applied physiology and kinesiology sophomore Rebecca Sacks, 20, took part in Dance Marathon her freshman year. She said she plans on attending the rally.
“DM is a great organization that not only unifies The Gator Nation, but also gives us an opportunity to give back to so many and families that need our help.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 12/3/2014]
