The Daddy & Family Expo kicked off early on a summer morning in beautiful Winter Park Florida, as an amazingly diverse array of over 80 exhibitors, vendors and entertainers assembled at the biggest event and celebration of dads and families anywhere in the world!
The event was honored by the presence of WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil with his family, who made time in his busy schedule to come to EXPO to be honored with the coveted EverythingForDads.com Celebrity MEGA Dad Award™. With more than 51,000 votes cast in a strongly contested competition, and after a massive #dadexpo Twitter party that gained an audience of over 9 million users, Titus beat out other famous dads including Vin Diesel, David Beckham and Ashton Kutcher to win the award.
The Daddy and Family Expo MEGA Dad Awards are given to dads who are determined to change the landscape of fatherhood for the better and for the good of all. As a father of two boys, ages 9 and 11, Titus is dedicated to giving back to the community and raising awareness about the importance of being an active parent, “I am humbled to be named the Celebrity Dad of the Year,” said Titus O’Neil. “While I love performing as a WWE Superstar, being a father to my two young boys is the most rewarding job I have. It means so much to me to be honored for something that is so close to my heart.”
“The sheer growth and reach of the MEGA Dad Awards and the Dads Campaign shows that there is widespread recognition of the essential role of involved fathers,” said Jim McKenzie, Founder of EveryThingForDads.com, “I am delighted that a devoted and nurturing celebrity father like Titus won the Celebrity MEGA Dad Award. He is beloved by so many just for being the compassionate man that he is. We’re looking forward to his being the guest of honor at the Daddy and Family Expo.”
The event was formally opened with a formal ribbon-cutting by Titus O’Neil who was ‘knighted’ by the Lord Chancellor and King in an entertaining ceremony hosted by the national entertainment group Medieval Times™ after which there was more music and entertainment on the stage, whilst dads and families began to enjoy the amazing variety of exhibitors and vendors, and it was pleasing to see so many dads carrying and baby wearing their newborns, and to see numerous moms-to-be at the event too!
We were then joined by Orlando Magic NBA legends Bo Outlaw and Nick Anderson as VIP hosts, with an energetic ‘meet and greet” for the vendors, VIP Ticket Holders and photo opportunities on the Red Carpet.
The children (and many adults too…) really enjoyed meeting characters from our friends at Character Mascot and Butterfly Dreams. The deep fried cupcake demonstrations, and kids playground areas that kept the children happy, and we were pleased to see just how many families stayed for the whole day (in particular, we must thank the Donovan family for their commitment to the Expo by in driving 14 hours with their 2 year old in order to come to the event…awesome!)
There were competitions, valuable giveaways and prizes from our valued exhibitors and sponsors including LEGOLAND, McDonalds, Hunter Vision, Wonderworks, Kingsbowl Orlando, Orlando Magic, WWE, Orlando City Soccer, Orlando Ankle and Foot, RaceTrac, KellyCo, Title Boxing Winter Park, plus many more.
The crowd also enjoyed food truck vendors Fork In The Road, The Crepe Company, and Lemon Bar and more, plus there was delicious food from Pei Wei Restaurants for our VIP Ticket Holders.
The entertainment highlight of the event was on our main stage , the fabulous family fashion show courtesy of our sponsors Modelscout, Destination Maternity and Babies R’Us, followed by the MEGA Dads Awards Ceremony and exciting finale from the knights from Medieval Times.
The founder of Every Thing For Dads, Jim McKenzie addressed the crowd to explain that the event was just the start of a new beginning for modern dads and families, and its success demonstrates that in the 21st Century there is growing recognition of the essential role of fathers in the lives of their children.
The Celebrity MEGA Dad 2015, Titus O’Neil then joined Jim McKenzie on stage and gave an emotional and moving speech which showed just how important this award is to him personally as a committed father, and symbolically in regard to the importance of involved dads to children and families everywhere. Our 2015 Community Mega Dad Awardees Richard Elo, Rick Rosario, Michael Ongsai and Perry James O’Keefe as well as our very own Defender at Orlando City Soccer Luke Boden who is also a new dad assembled on stage to wish all at the event, the 4 million plus viewers who would be seeing the film footage from the event on national television and the millions of followers on social media a Happy Fathers Day!
The Daddy and Family Expo is firmly established as the largest and premier awareness event and celebration for dads on the planet, and has created a colossal hub for fathers and all people, business and organizations who support the importance of modern dads in the lives of their children and families. The Daddy and Family Expo and MEGA Dad Awards will return in April 2016 as an even larger and even more important global resource and initiative for better family lifestyles. We look forward with connecting with you and hearing what we can do for you and what you would like to see!