New Year's eve in Prince George always gets some extra sparkle when the element of a ballroom dance competition is added into the mix.
This year's Boogie with the Stars, held at the Civic Centre Dec. 31, is a fundraising effort for the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation that will see six community stars pair up with an experienced dance instructor to thrill the audience with their new-found skill.
It all started when two members of Dance North, Peter Weedon and Paz Milburn, were tired of not having any place to dance.
"Several years ago we were frustrated with not having anywhere to go to dance without having very crowded situations, so we decided to do our own New Year's eve event," said Weedon. "So one day in January about four years ago we took the bull by the horns and went down to the Civic Centre and booked the hall."
Word got out about the event and soon Spirit of the North was on board too, he added.
"That's when the event really took off," Weedon said. "Part of the fundraising concept was Boogie with the Stars. Initially we hadn't planned on calling it that because we were just going to have a dinner and dance and some entertainment. At the end of the day we had the dance competition component that was the Spirit of the North fundraising part of the evening. That part took on a Dancing with the Stars element."
The dance competition features locals Trish Bella, from School District 57, Selen Alpay, owner of Canadian Tire, Dr. Charles Jago from Northern Health, Telus' Chris Jensen, Mari Oly from the College Heights Tim Horton's, and real estate agent Angela Lesniewicz.
There will be several community judges including Judy Russell of Enchainement Dance Studio, and past contestants Tom Sentes and Stella Royle and a couple of others that have not been confirmed at this time. Master of Ceremonies will be John Rustad.
The evening begins with a dinner, then the competition and continues with a dance at 9 p.m. where Steve Elliott brings Elvis to town with a tribute to the star with a live band rocking the evening until 1 a.m.
"We know it's going to be a great evening," said Weedon.
Doors open at 6, dinner at 7 p.m., dance contest at 8 p.m. and dancing at 9 p.m.
Tickets are $85 each at the Spirit of the North Healthcare office at 250-565-2515, Wood Wheaton SuperCentre 250-564-4466 and the Prince George Citizen 250-562-2441.
