To the Editor:

Our May 6 Formal Dinner Dance for adults and teens with special needs was a truly memorable Journey to India! We are grateful to the many people who made it possible.

Thanks to our new DJ Steven Knox. Steven has reenergized our monthly dances, but he and his dad Dan really outdid themselves at the Formal. Thanks, too, to Cross Culture for the wonderful Indian menu and to McCaffrey’s bakery for the truly gorgeous desserts. And, as always, we are so grateful to our friend and very talented photographer Jaime Escarpeta.

Over the past decade, the synergy between Princeton Special Sports, an all-volunteer non-profit group, and the Princeton Recreation Department has made sports, social, and most recently, arts programing available to our friends and neighbors with special needs. Thank you to PRD staff Vikki Caines, Stacie Ryan, and especially Joe Marrolli for all of their hard work. Thank you, too, to the town leaders who showed their support for our community by joining us at the Formal: Jo Butler of the Princeton Council, Joanne Rogers of the Recreation Commission, and Recreation Executive Director Ben Stentz.

The Formal takes a lot of planning and work over many months. Thank you to Hana Oresky, Radha Iyer, Joe Marrolli, Susan Simonelli, Ann Diver, and Katerina Bubnovsky for bringing Journey to India to life. Thank you, too, to the adult volunteers who helped us set up, chaperone, and get everything cleaned up after: Oleg Chebotarev, Liz Cutler, John Diver, Sethu Iyer, Patrick Jackson, Abitha Ravichander, Maureen Rourke, Andy Santoro, and Valerie Walker.

It is always our student volunteers who make the Formal so successful. Thank you to these outstanding students: Matthew Ams, Maddie Bitterly, Charlie Doran, Tom Doran, Talia Fiester, Laura Harmon, Barbara Kaminska, Jack Lynch, Barrett Miller, Lauren Morelli, Rhea Ravichander, Declan Rourke, Yinhao Sheng, Grace Sheppard, Marli Siciliano, Sierra Steinberg, Haley Velazquez, Charlotte Walker, Eli Wasserman, DeAnna Weir, and George Yeung.

Our last dance of the season will be our annual pool party, dance, and BBQ at the Princeton Community Pool on June 3. Swimming will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by BBQ and dancing from 7:30 to 9 p.m. For more information or to register, go to princetonrecreation.com or princetonspecialsports.com.

Deborah Martin Norcross

Co-President, Princeton Special Sports