Dancing with Chenango Celebrities raises $2.5k for local Catholic Charities
Mat White photo
NORWICH – The fundraising results are in after the local Catholic Charities' first ever Dancing with Chenango Celebrities.
Catholic Charities Fund Developer Sharon Wilson said the competitive fundraiser raised over $2,500––all of which will benefit Catholic Charities of Chenango County after Perkins School of the Arts opted not to take a cut of the profits.
Wilson said the first Dancing with Chenango Celebrities fundraiser drew its inspiration from a similar event in Easton, Pa. and was in the works for about two years before the dancers took the stage.
“They had a blast with it in Easton, so I said, 'Hm, that might be something we could pull off in Norwich,'” said Wilson. “We have a couple great dance centers and so we went for it.”
Six Chenango celebrities participated in the fundraiser: Christine Carnrike, Mayor of Norwich; Maria Fernandez, Owner of Gus' Steakhouse; Brandon Foulds of NBT Bank; Kisten Giglio, Principal of Norwich High School; Tyler Oliver, Assistant Director of the YMCA; and Terry Potter, Mayor of New Berlin.
Perkins School of the Arts owner Amber Perkins matched up the six celebrities randomly with six of the studio's dancers, and Wilson said each dance team had a little over a month to prepare for the competition.
Just like with the real competition Dancing with the Stars, however, Wilson said the event was not without its speed bumps: as the competition drew nearer, dancers Ellie O'Neill and Holly Sullivan were forced to withdraw from the competition due to unforeseen circumstances: O'Neill had a sectional soccer game the same night, and Sullivan sustained a serious leg injury. Wilson said it's a credit to O'Neill and Sullivan for training their replacements to ensure the show would go on.
“Ellie and Holly each trained their replacements and their replacements did not miss a beat,” said Wilson. “There was no way to tell that they didn't have much time to practice.”
Ultimately, judges Pat Mavady, Lisa Natoli, Martha Ryan, and Bernie Windsor settled on the dancing duo of Maria Fernandez of Gus' Steakhouse and Perkins Dancer Aidan Sullivan as the winner of the judges' choice prize in the competition, with Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike and Perkins Dancer Chase Benjamin winning the people's choice.
“It was awesome to watch the audience vote for their choice,” said Wilson. “I was amazed at the crowd, they went nuts. There was a lot of other things going on that Friday night, but we still had around 300 people attend.”
Wilson said that as soon as the event was over, she had people asking her and Catholic Charities when the next Dancing with Chenango Celebrities would take place. Wilson said that Perkins School of the Arts is once again on board, and they are planning a second Dancing with Chenango Celebrities for 2018.
NORWICH – The fundraising results are in after the local Catholic Charities' first ever Dancing with Chenango Celebrities.
Catholic Charities Fund Developer Sharon Wilson said the competitive fundraiser raised over $2,500––all of which will benefit Catholic Charities of Chenango County after Perkins School of the Arts opted not to take a cut of the profits.
Wilson said the first Dancing with Chenango Celebrities fundraiser drew its inspiration from a similar event in Easton, Pa. and was in the works for about two years before the dancers took the stage.
“They had a blast with it in Easton, so I said, 'Hm, that might be something we could pull off in Norwich,'” said Wilson. “We have a couple great dance centers and so we went for it.”
Six Chenango celebrities participated in the fundraiser: Christine Carnrike, Mayor of Norwich; Maria Fernandez, Owner of Gus' Steakhouse; Brandon Foulds of NBT Bank; Kisten Giglio, Principal of Norwich High School; Tyler Oliver, Assistant Director of the YMCA; and Terry Potter, Mayor of New Berlin.
Perkins School of the Arts owner Amber Perkins matched up the six celebrities randomly with six of the studio's dancers, and Wilson said each dance team had a little over a month to prepare for the competition.
Just like with the real competition Dancing with the Stars, however, Wilson said the event was not without its speed bumps: as the competition drew nearer, dancers Ellie O'Neill and Holly Sullivan were forced to withdraw from the competition due to unforeseen circumstances: O'Neill had a sectional soccer game the same night, and Sullivan sustained a serious leg injury. Wilson said it's a credit to O'Neill and Sullivan for training their replacements to ensure the show would go on.
“Ellie and Holly each trained their replacements and their replacements did not miss a beat,” said Wilson. “There was no way to tell that they didn't have much time to practice.”
Ultimately, judges Pat Mavady, Lisa Natoli, Martha Ryan, and Bernie Windsor settled on the dancing duo of Maria Fernandez of Gus' Steakhouse and Perkins Dancer Aidan Sullivan as the winner of the judges' choice prize in the competition, with Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike and Perkins Dancer Chase Benjamin winning the people's choice.
“It was awesome to watch the audience vote for their choice,” said Wilson. “I was amazed at the crowd, they went nuts. There was a lot of other things going on that Friday night, but we still had around 300 people attend.”
Wilson said that as soon as the event was over, she had people asking her and Catholic Charities when the next Dancing with Chenango Celebrities would take place. Wilson said that Perkins School of the Arts is once again on board, and they are planning a second Dancing with Chenango Celebrities for 2018.
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