Saturday night will be an evening of dress-up, twinkle-toe action at the Granada Theatre.
The evening will feature dancing, light hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and music from Maxout Entertainment’s Kelly Maxfield.
Formerly known as the Heart Dance, this is now the Red Dress Ball, a community-wide dance sponsored by local chapters of Beta Sigma Phi. Guests are encouraged to dress up for Valentine’s day, especially in red, to celebrate the holiday as well as to recognize the need to maintain healthy hearts.
The “Red Dress” in February has become a symbol of awareness about heart disease in women particularly. Symptoms of cardiac distress for women differ from those in men, and the American Heart Association has been promoting awareness through aggressive media campaigns.
Beta Sigma Phi is a women’s non-academic social sorority, founded in 1931 in Abilene. Its mission is to unite women of different backgrounds, for the purpose of personal enrichment and service. Members have donated approximately $1 million nationally to medical research and treatment through the Beta Sigma Phi Endowment Fund.
Emporia has eight chapters, boasting a total membership of about 100 women. These chapters have been hosting the Red Dress Ball for over 60 years, to benefit Newman Regional Health’s cardiac unit. This year’s proceeds will help purchase a NuStep Recumbent Cross Trainer, which will be used for cardiac rehabilitation.
Over the years, this charity event has helped purchase defibrillators, treadmills, mannequins for CPR training, a Doppler machine to check circulation and pulses in extremities, an EKG machine and even an expansion of the facility. For more information on the cardiac rehabilitation program, contact the cardiopulmonary services department at Newman Regional Health 343-6800.
The dance will be from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Granada Theatre, Modern Air Conditioning and the Newman Regional Health Foundation office.
For information on the dance or membership in Beta Sigma Phi, contact Brenda Coburn, 342-7889.