The Genesis Project, with sponsorship from the Tim Tebow Foundation, is set to put on its ninth Night to Shine Prom at Union Station.

“Night to Shine is hosted by churches all around the globe who desire to share the love of Christ with their community of people with special needs,” a press release on the event said. “Night to Shine is a complimentary event. Some activities will include a red-carpet entrance complete with a warm welcome from a friendly crowd, limousine rides, corsages and boutonnieres, a catered dinner, dancing, karaoke, a Respite Room for parents and caregivers, a Sensory Room, and a crowning ceremony where every honored guest receives a crown or tiara!”

Kyle Hill, executive pastor of The Genesis Project in Ogden, said they were the first church to do the event in Utah.

“Each year has just gotten bigger and bigger and bigger,” he said. “This year we’ve actually moved to the Union Station. We’ve got community partners from all over the northern part of our state. … We’ve got approximately 800 volunteers at this point and over 200 kings and queens.”

He said that this year saw 250 people sign up, filling the event’s registration limit after only being open for 19 minutes.

Hill said the event started as a way of serving an underserved community.

“This is a prom night experience for those with special needs in our community,” he said. “We’re very passionate about serving this part of our community. They tend to be very underserved. … My brother was special needs and I just had a heart for doing this. I’m very passionate about this community, so that’s initially why we started doing this in the first place — to just create a big party with no strings attached, just this wonderful party where every king and queen gets crowned king or queen of the prom.”

At the event, Ogden High School will have football players, cheerleaders and the marching band to provide a red-carpet welcome for each attendee.

Hill said he’s seen the prom grow immensely since its inception.

“Nine years ago, we kind of dipped our toe in the water — we had 100 kings and queens and maybe 300 volunteers in about 30,000 square feet in our building here in Ogden off of Riverdale Road,” he said. “We’ve kind of hit the ceiling on our capacity inside of this building.”

Not even the pandemic got in the way of the event.

“We actually went virtual and we got 25 teams that would take Night to Shine to four different locations across the Wasatch Front, so we went to 100 different locations through the COVID times because we know during that time that community was very isolated,” Hill said. “We made an extra effort to make sure that they got a visit and they were still crowned king or queen of the prom. It might have been out of their garage with a mask on, but we did that.”

Hill said the event is a lot of work, but more than worth it in the end.

“We spend six months planning a four-hour event that goes very quickly,” he said. “Sometimes I question along the way why we do this until I see that first person come down the red carpet. It is life changing to spend time with our community that have different abilities or special needs. It is life changing to be in their presence and to have a great time with them.”