Not quite surpassing their record of 2011’s 17-minute sellout, the Central Okanagan Hospice Association (COHA) is more than thrilled that it took only 37 minutes to sellout of their fourth annual Swinging with the Stars, presented by Advocare Home Health.
“There are now 222 guest with the hottest ticket in town,” said Swinging with the Stars coordinator, Jan Woolsey. “The event, a take off on Dancing with the Stars, promises to be a fabulous evening, but for those that didn’t get a ticket, we have a number of other events planned by our celebrity dancers leading up to our main event on March 30.
Woolsey explained dancing a choreographed dance with a professional ballroom dance instructor is just a small part of the job description for the local celebrities performing in the event. Each celebrity dancer is responsible for creating a campaign team to raise pledges in their name .
“Four years ago, we encouraged our dancers to gather donations from friends and family to support their efforts. We told them they are only limited by their imagination in how they raise the funds,” said Woolsey. “The fundraising has now snowballed in a good way with each dancer hosting fun events of their own.”
Online pledging is now open to the public on the COHA’s website but attending one of the other events is also a great way to donate to hospice and have fun at the same time.
“This year our local celebrities have a wide variety of events planned, ranging from learning to dance with your Valentine; a poker night; a Greek night; dance marathon; martini night; a dinner at Lindon House and the list goes on.
“We encourage the community to check our COHA website and click on SWTS Dancer events. Details will be available as we learn about them. The energy and enthusiasm the dancers and their campaign teams generate to raise funds for Hospice is truly amazing,” said Woolsey.
Local celebrities dancing and planning events in conjunction with Swinging with the Stars include Crissy Cuddihy, Capri Insurance; Sandra Merlo and her husband Dr. Andrew DePieri, The DePieri Clinic; Chris Penty, Penty and Company; Vern Nielsen, entrepreneur; Carol and Darren Visosky, Western Financial and Dr. Deborah Zokol, dentist.
A complete listing of events planned in conjunction with Swinging with the Stars is online at www.hospicecoha.org.
The Central Okanagan Hospice Association (COHA) is a community based non-profit organization that provides services and support, through trained volunteers to individuals living with or dying from advanced illnesses and their loved ones.
Prime Time
The Prime Time seniors group will be starting up again Feb. 13 for entertainment on Mondays, 1 to 3 p.m., at the Lake Country Seniors Centre.
These are free events for seniors and will run until May 14.
Among the performers lined up are The Songsters, singer Vern Gulka, The Cloggers dance group and The Oldtime Fiddlers.
Prime Time is a volunteer-driven initiative that has been going on in Lake Country for 20 years.
For more call 250-766-2513 or 250-766-0869.
Vernon concert
North Okanagan Community Concerts present the Penderecki String Quartet in two concerts on Feb. 22 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The concerts are at the Vernon Performing Arts Center, 3800-33 Street.
Tickets for adults are $35, under 18 years of age $17.50, and for high school students on the eyeGo program just $5 from the Ticket Seller, 250-549-7469.