Blenheim District Home and School Association is gearing up for its third annual Spring Dance, which will take place at the Drumbo the Agricultural Hall on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
The association, which is different from parent council, was established in 2023 and aims to ensure education, health, safety and social well-being of the children of Blenheim District Public School (BDPS) and the communities surrounding.
“We’ve only been in existence since 2023 so we’re fairly new. We support Blenheim District Public School and are a non-profit underneath the Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations (OFHSA) umbrella,” said Stacey Hawkins, the association’s secretary. “We operate at arm’s length from BDPS and we are parents and community members that work alongside the school to help raise funds for school initiatives. It’s a different from parent council, but members of OFHSA are dedicated to working towards “The Best For Each Student.’”
“We’ve only been in existence since 2023 so we’re fairly new. We support Blenheim District Public School and are a non-profit underneath the Ontario Federation of Home & School Associations (OFHSA) umbrella,” said Hawkins. “Members of OFHSA are dedicated to working towards ‘The Best For Each Student,’ that’s part of the mission statement, so we essentially operate at arm’s length from BDPS as parents and community members who work alongside the school to help raise funds for school initiatives.”
The upcoming event, the theme of which is Boots and Blooms, is the association’s flagship spring fundraiser.
“This is our third annual dance, we’ve had two others prior to this one. It’s sort of become one of our main events and raises a significant amount of dollars for different school initiatives,” said Hawkins. “For example, in previous years, we were fundraising $100,000 for an outdoor classroom, and we actually met that goal last year. It was through community organizations, individual donors, and events like this one that were able to raise that amount of funds within such a short period of time. So the first two dances went towards the outdoor classroom, and this year’s will help support technology needs in the school including purchasing Chromebooks and interactive projectors to enhance the classroom learning.”
The dance is for those 19 and over, and will run from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets are $15 each and include a late night buffet. Attendees will also be able to enter to win various prizes like a hot air balloon ride donated by Skyward Balloons or golf passes for Innerkip Highlands Golf Club.
Hawkins added that part of the event will include a beginner-friendly line dancing session from 9:30 to 10 p.m.
“This year we’re bringing in a line dance instructor, so Line Dance with Lindsay will be there,” she said. “We just thought it would maybe be a fun way to break up the DJ and do something a little bit more interactive for those that are really into it. That was something that came from feedback from previous years so we thought it would be a good way to add a new experience to a standard dance.”
Hawkins said that while the theme of the event is Boots & Blooms, the event will have more than just country music and organizers are welcoming music recommendations on the Facebook event page.
For those who are interested in attending the fundraiser, tickets can be purchased from any of the Home & School Association members, by commenting on the Facebook event page or by emailing bdpshomeandschool@gmail.com
Overall, Hawkins said she and the rest of the association are looking forward to welcoming the community back to the event.
“We are very excited. It’s one of the most exciting events that we have each year, and we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from it. It’s just a great night to get out, have some fun and support the community,” she said. “One thing I will say is, last year we had this event in February and it ended up being on a night with an awful snowstorm, but the amount of people who still came out for it was so humbling. There were over a 100 people that were there and it was just really nice to see that even in a snowstorm, our community still shows up for us.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
