Friday was ‘Night to Shine,’ an annual event, brought to life by former football player Tim Tebow’s foundation, where parties are hosted around the country and even around the world to celebrate people with special needs. Quite a few of those red-carpet events happened around the Bay Area, inc luding in Danville, where the San Ramon Valley Night to Shine welcomed in 280 guests and their caretakers. Organizers explained that the event is open to anyone in the region with intellectual or developmental disabilities and is over the age of 16. The event is a well-orchestrated production that pairs each guest with a “buddy” for the night and offers guests the chance to dance on the dance floor, eat a meal catered largely by local restaurants, sing karaoke, visit with therapy animals, or decompress in the sensory room. Caretakers are also served a meal and offered a chance to decompress and even have massages. In total, the event requires around 700 volunteers. When guests arrive, they are given a handmade floral corsage and whisked off in a limo, then dropped off at the entrance to the red carpet. On the red carpet, an emcee reads their name and some fun facts about them, as crowds cheer and give them high-fives. “My favorite part is the dancing, entertainment, and the food,” said guest Azaria Graat of Brentwood. Graat has been to this event before; she returned with her friend this year because she enjoyed it so much in the past. “The red carpet makes me feel comfortable and confident,” she said. Deana Dickerson, the Director of Missions with Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, is one of the chief organizers of this event. “I love doing this because it honors people in the disability community that are often overlooked,” Dickerson said. “It’s just a special way to say ‘hey, you matter, you have value,’ and we want to honor them and have the best night of their lives,” she continued. Dickerson explained that this event has grown so popular year after year that they’ve had to move to larger venues and create a waitlist. She said the growing popularity of this event speaks to the broader need for more events like it in the area. The event is jointly organized between Cornerstone Fellowship San Ramon Valley, Cornerstone Christian Center in Antioch, Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, and Creekside Community Church in Alamo. Attendees come from places around Contra Costa County to attend. “And when our guests get their names called, and [the emcee shares] a few things about themselves, and they get to run down that red carpet– everyone cheering for them — I mean, that is a little slice of heaven right here,” said Tyler Scott, the lead pastor at Community Presbyterian Church. “It makes me very emotional, I can never go through the night without crying, it is that special,” he continued. Into the night, there were smiles all around from the guests who kept the dancefloor going strong all evening long. ...read more read less