INFORMATION FOR PARENTS — TEEN SWING DANCES

Drop Off & Pick Up:  If you're dropping off your teen, please follow the directions below, except once you reach the Gulfport Casino, turn left (instead of right) onto Shore Blvd, then drop off your teen on the sidewalk (to the right) in front of the Gulfport Casino.  For pickup, you're welcome to park and enter the Gulfport Casino Ballroom's main entrance, located on the west side of the building; after 9:30pm, there should be plenty of nearby parking as the outdoor "Art Walk" winds down.

Gulfport Art Walk Festival:  Looking for something to do while your teen dances?  Then park your car (see below for parking info) and check out Gulfport's Art Walk, a festival happening on the sidewalks of Beach Blvd 6-10pm.  In addition, all of Gulfport's restaurants and shops will be open, all walking distance from the Gulfport Casino! ...not to mention the beach itself!

Swing-Dance Lesson:  The swing dance lesson is highly recommended for brand-new dancers and is good for more experienced dancers too.  No partner is needed; everyone dances with everyone as we rotate partners throughout the lesson.  This is a good social as well as learning experience, as everyone dances, everyone gets involved, and everyone gets to meet the other dancers!  Please arrive early, before 7pm, for the swing-dance lesson.

Suggested Arrival & Departure Times:  If taking the swing-dance lesson, please arrive by 7pm.  Otherwise, any arrival time during open hours will work.  After the lesson, dancing takes place 8-11pm.  Any departure time will work, though most teens like to stay to the end and dance.

No Re-Entry Policy:  Once a teen enters the dance, he or she can only leave if departing for home; there are no passes to leave and re-enter the dances; this helps maintain order and keep teens under supervision.

Best Behavior:  Teens are expected to act like ladies and gentleman and be on their best behavior.

Chaperones:  Parents, teachers, or youth leaders who would like to volunteer as chaperones, please contact Swing Time at 727-669-7830.

Attire:  It's fun to dress up!  Retro swing attire is encouraged, but any appropriate dressy attire is welcome.

Refreshments:  Soft drinks, bottled water, and snacks are available for purchase.  There's also a water fountain.  The Gulfport Casino is a smoke-free ballroom and, on Teen Swing Dance nights, it's alcohol-free as well.

Why Is It Called Casino?  From Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, a casino is "a building or room used for social amusements".  Historically, this often meant dancing rather than gambling.  The current Gulfport Casino was built in the 1930's, has always hosted dancing, but has never been a gambling establishment.  In fact, the Gulfport Casino has hosted Teen Dances since at least the 1950's and probably earlier!

Why Dance?  Swing dancing is fun & exciting, plus it's a powerfully positive influence, with benefits that last a lifetime.  Dancing builds social skills, self-esteem, confidence, coordination, fitness, a sense of community/belonging, and more!

Map & Directions to Gulfport Casino

Teen Swing Dances — Click Here
 

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GULFPORT PARKING GUIDE for 1ST FRIDAYS

Gulfport is a popular place on the first Friday of every month.  Not only is the Teen Swing Dance happening at the Gulfport Casino, but the waterfront restaurants, clubs, and shops are open, AND the Gulfport Art Walk festival is happening 6-10pm on the sidewalks up and down Beach Boulevard.  SO, you can't just drive up to the front door of the Casino and expect to snag your favorite parking space.  However, there are THOUSANDS of free and available parking spaces nearby, all within short walking distance of the Gulfport Casino.  You just have to know where to look. So print this guide and try, in this order:

#1. If you're dropping off and picking up your teen, then ignore the rest of this parking guide.  You won't need parking to drop them off (see best drop-off location at top) and there should be plenty of parking after 9:30pm if you want to park and walk into the Casino to pick them up.

#2. If it's raining or cold, don't worry about it... your favorite parking space will be open. (No one wants to attend an outdoor festival in the rain, and sometimes they'll even cancel the Art Walk.)  But the Teen Swing Dance goes on, rain or shine.

#3. Beautiful, Sunny Weather... Gulfport will be hopping!  Anyone who arrives before 6pm won't need this parking guide; you'll find the obvious parking spaces open.  Ditto if you arrive after 9:15pm as the Art Walk is winding down — many obvious parking spaces open up.

#4. Let's say it's good weather and you arrive in Gulfport between 6:00pm and 9:15pm.  At the end of Beach Blvd, turn RIGHT when you see the Gulfport Casino.  (You'll now be on Shore Blvd.)  Look for the first available parking spot on the street or in the municipal beachfront parking lots to the left.  Before you get to the end of Shore Blvd (58th St), you will likely see an open parking space.  If not, at the end of Shore Blvd, turn left into the paved parking lot.  That's the Gulfport Recreation Center, and it's a 5 minute walk back to the Gulfport Casino.  Park there.  That parking lot almost never fills up.  58th Street, next to the Rec Center, also has a few parking spaces.

#5. Never say never.... If the Rec Center Parking Lot is full, then any of three options will yield an open space:
      Option 1. From Beach Blvd or Shore Blvd or any other Gulfport street, turn off the main drag and drive down any of the residential side streets; on most streets, parking is permitted. You can park on the curb next to any house (as long as you don't block their driveway or violate any other traffic signs/regulations).
      Option 2. Drive back to the Gulfport Casino and turn left and go back up Beach Blvd until you hit the Public Library, which has plenty of free parking, and further up Beach Blvd is the Senior Center with even more parking and the Theater with even more parking.

      Option 3. Take the Free Gulfport Trolley!  Park anywhere along the trolley route and take the trolley.