Gearing up for "Swinging with the Stars" at the Don Ross Centre. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)
Over $23,000 reached so far

BUH Foundation excited for weekend’s Swinging with the Stars event

Feb 2, 2024 | 4:28 PM

Excitement is building for the inaugural Battlefords Union Hospital (BUH) Foundation’s Swinging with the Stars fundraiser on Saturday night.

The sold-out event will take place at the Don Ross Centre. BUH Foundation Executive Director Leanne Ducommun noted all the dance teams’ performances will also be livestreamed on the BUH Foundation’s Facebook Page .

“It’s going to be a very large crowd. We have over 400 people in attendance,” she said. “The tickets sold out in less than 48 hours. We are expecting it to be a really great night.”

Funds raised from the event will help purchase a Neonatal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine for the Women’s Health and Birthing Centre (WHBC) at the BUH. The non-invasive machine helps newborns if they are experiencing any difficulty breathing.

Ducommun was thrilled to see as of Friday, over $23,000 had been raised for the cause.

“I am just blown away by the support that the foundation is receiving once again,” she said. “Our stars and our pros have been working so hard, and the donations that are coming in are going towards a very worthy cause.”

Each of the seven dance teams, of a local celebrity and dance pro, participating in the event has a goal to raise $5,000. The total fundraising goal is to reach $35,000.

“We have a little ways to go, but I am very hopeful and optimistic that we are going to make it,” Ducommun said. “Our stars are local individuals without any dance talent who have stepped up to learn these routines.”

The dance professionals have also volunteered their time to take part.

Some of the celebrity participants include Town of Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie, CJNB’s Grant Schutte, Living Sky School Division Superintendent of Learning Tonya Lehman, Dr. Kelsey Lazar, and nurse practitioner Dal Lynds.

“I’m super excited,” Ducommun said. “I’ve been able to watch some of our stars and [dance] pros performances, little snippets of it. We are doing a dress rehearsal tonight to let them go on stage.”

She added the event co-chair, Cayla Ellis, of Annette’s School of Dance, has been instrumental in helping with the project, and coordinating the dance routines.

“We’ve been working together for about the past eight months to make this all happen,” Ducommun said.

At the end, people pick their favourites team’s performance.

The evening also includes performances by the Svoboda Ukrainian Dancers, powwow dancer Khoniss Wuttunee, Dance Connection, Highland Dance, and Annette’s School of Dance to round out the show.

angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @battlefordsNOW

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