Holiday Party 2023 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds

This year’s Holiday Party had lots of great updates…read on for all the details!

girl shopping at the holiday store

This year’s Holiday Party was moved to the Purdue Extension Building at the Indiana State Fairgrounds as we had outgrown our previous space.  This move came just in time as 2023 was our highest attended Holiday Party yet! 

We partnered again this year with the amazing Indianapolis Fire Department to bring gifts to over 70 patients living with neuromuscular disease.  Battalion Chief Dudley and his team coordinated with 44 IFD Stations to collect money for gifts, shop from the wish list provided by the kids, and wrap the many presents.  (A little bit of history:  BC Taylor has been working with MDFF since 1990 and the IFD partnership has been ongoing for more than 70 years!)

This year MDFF was fortunate to be paired with Indiana University athletes via the Hoosiers for Good organization and the 3 students, Nic, Amare, and Jordan, were able to join us at the Holiday Party.  They enjoyed spending time with the kids - learning about their challenges and incredible strength, and helping out during the Holiday Song Bingo game.

There were a number of fun activities this year such as holiday song bingo, cookie decorating, balloon artists, face painting, ornament making, raffle prizes, 2 cute reindeer, a festive photo booth, and a visit with Santa.  In addition, we had the space to add a mini-expo, with Superior Van & Mobility and Rehab Medical generously giving their time to support our event.

MDFF likes to recognize the caregivers who attend by offering them a selection of coffee drinks at the Caregiver Café, while we assist the kids in selecting a unique gift for their caregiver from our always popular Holiday Store.

Happy Holidays to all who attended and to those who assisted in making this another successful Holiday Party!

santa and little girlboy hugging santa

volunteers under a balloon arch

We could not have had such a successful event without the help of our many volunteers who so generously donated their time to help set-up, decorate, assist with registration and activities, then tear-down and clean up the space.  We hear from them that this is a favorite event to volunteer at because it fills them with joy to see so many families connecting and celebrating the day.

4 men standing in front of a christmas display

We have so much more flexibility with space that we can continue to evolve each year based on feedback from guests and volunteers.  We look forward to continuing to expand and improve our Holiday Party each year in our new event space!  We extend our thanks to our donors and sponsors who not only made this party possible, but also make it possible for us to help support Indiana families impacted by muscular dystrophy throughout the year. 

Check out the many great photos from the 2023 Holiday Party

Photos provided by Orange Float