Dance Convention Meal Planning – 5 Things To Consider

Notebook and pencil ready to plan

This post may contain affiliate links that allow us to earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Attending dance conventions is a highlight of the dance year.  The time away with other dancers and their parents is a lot of fun.  The one challenging piece to attending a dance convention can be bringing lunch to your dancer at the designated time.  Lunch?  Sounds easy enough right?  Well, depending on where the convention is held, restaurant selections may not be limited.

5 Things To Consider:

Is there a mall close by?

What options are available in the food court?

Are there quick-service restaurants in the area – sub/sandwich shops, pizza, etc.

Are there food options at the dance convention venue?

If your child is not a fan of fast food, what options are available?

Maybe you have more than one dancer and the breaks are slightly different, would it be easier to bring items from home – Peanut Butter sandwiches for example.

Our day goes smoother when this information is gathered from my dancer:

  • Talk to my dancer about food options – a first and second choice
  • Drink options – a first and second choice
  • Get the food earlier than I think I need it.  There are a lot of other parents getting lunch for their dancers too, so inevitably it seems to take longer than usual.
  • Remember that Chic-Fil-A is not open on Sundays – especially if this is the only quick-service restaurant your dancer likes.  This seems to be the restaurant of choice for our girls.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out meal options, prior to arriving at the convention city, there is a great, free app you can use when you arrive.  Yelp – allows you to search for restaurants in the area along with shopping and activities you can do while your dancer is busy dancing.  This app provides ratings too which is great when you are in an area and are unfamiliar with restaurants.  Yelp is particularly helpful if you want to have a nicer meal with your studio friends – either on the night of arrival or if you are not competing, on Saturday evening after a long day of dance.

With a little planning, your dance convention mealtime will be stress-free and while your dancer is enjoying their lunch, you can enjoy hearing the buzz of excited chatter about their favorite teacher, style, music, and anything else that has happened during classes that morning.

Editors Note: This post was originally posted in January 2013 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

View: Dance Convention List

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *