On Friday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Catalyst Church is holding The Night to Shine. Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is a prom night experience that is a worldwide movement uniting churches of different denominations all over the world with the common goal of celebrating people with special needs.

According to April Blackie, Catalyst is hosting this event for the third time this year.

¨It’s an awesome event that celebrates some pretty amazing people,¨ A. Blackie said.

The event is not free for the host churches.

¨The funding comes from donations and grants from area businesses,¨Mike Blackie said.

This event is considered special to some people.

“Our guests live their lives adapting to the way everyone else does things. This event adapts everything to them and celebrates them as unique and wonderful creations of god and then crowns all of them as kings and queens of the prom,” A. Blackie said 

The church’s pastor read about the event in a Christian magazine then decided to go through the process.

“It is such a great thing for the community, and the closest one was in State College, so we decided to start the application process. It is only done through local churches around the world, and you have to go through a lengthy application process,” A. Blackie said.

“It is a prom experience for people with special needs, age 14+. When we are in person, they are announced and walk down the red carpet with paparazzi cheering them on. They are treated with limo rides, hair, makeup and shoe shine touch ups. They have a formal picture taken. There is a DJ after dinner for dancing and fun. They are given awesome goodie bags with flowers. The evening is filled with fun special guests (like princes and princesses and even Star Wars characters). They are all crowned kings and queens with a video appearance by Tim Tebow,” M. Blackie said.