University Program Council plans to kick off fall family weekend with its annual evening of dinner and dancing.
The event will take place Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Student Center ballroom.
There will be dance instruction through the Auburn University Swing Dance Association, dinner from Tiger Catering and a night of grooving to the songs of Gwen Hughes and the Retro Jazz Kats.
"This is an event that we do every fall," said Anne Smead, UPC president and senior in public administration. "It's fun and different. It's the one event we do that brings in the entire Auburn community. Most are geared toward students, but this is an event open to everyone."
The evening will begin with instruction in this year's choice dance style: East Coast swing.
The theme changes from year to year, and this year's theme was chosen by polling students at a previous UPC event.
The AUSDA sends two instructors--normally a boy and a girl--who spend the first hour of the event instructing the participants.
"We do our beginner lessons, so people who have never danced before can get the basics in the first hour and know what to do during the free dance afterward," said Blake Mahan, sophomore in chemical engineering and secretary of the AUSDA. "We start off with the basic step because it's a good way to end a song."
Gwen Hughes and the Retro Jazz Kats, a jazz ensemble based out of Atlanta, will provide the night's entertainment.
"We bill ourselves as a swing band that can also play classic rock and Motown," said lead vocalist Gwen Hughes. "We're jazz musicians that can also get funky and play rock. For this gig it will be straight swing with a little R&B, but we also love requests."
This will be the band's first show in Auburn.
UPC has been working with the Parents' Association to bring in students and their parents for the first family weekend event.
"We usually have a pretty good turnout--around 150," said Sara Joy Richards, senior in health promotion and UPC director of fine arts.
The cost will be $5 for students, $15 for nonstudents and $25 for nonstudent couples. Tickets will be on sale in Student Center Suite 3130 throughout the week.
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