By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
An evening of entertainment that proved to be a hit last summer is returning to Beaufort County next month.
The second annual Dancing with OUR Stars competition will be held Aug. 29, with all proceeds benefiting Eagle’s Wings. Tickets are now on sale and available from the “stars” and dancers; they’re $20 for general admission and $30 for reserved seating.
The show has a new, larger venue this year, according to Eagle’s Wings Executive Director Debbie Adams. It will be held at the Washington High School Performing Arts Center, which can seat more than 1,200.
Last year, the smaller Turnage Theater hosted the event, and tickets for the evening performance sold out so quickly that tickets were then sold for the afternoon dress rehearsal, Adams said.
The Eagle’s Wings ministry was founded in 1989 to help meet the most pressing needs of local residents living below the poverty level.
The organization’s mission statement includes alleviating the immediate hunger needs of the impoverished and homeless in Beaufort County.
According to the Eagle’s Wings Web site, Beaufort County is a tier one county in North Carolina with a poverty rate of 19.5 percent, and Washington, itself, has a poverty rate of almost 30 percent, the second highest in the state.
“Stars” taking part in the dance competition are Alan Jordan, Mick Reed, Billy Weaver, Sean “Nico” Nathan, Reggie Baker, Pam Nuckols, Ray Moore, Marcus Jones, Catherine Glover, Marc Rucquoi, Ed Moultre, Daniel Bergivien, Vinnie Cilluffo, Jimmy Davis, Dave McLawhorn, Debbie Ainsworth, Michael Bilbro, Gennia Weatherington, Neva Cashion and Russell Smith.
Janet Cox — also a dancer — is back as director/choreographer of Dancing With OUR Stars.
Others charged with making the “stars” look good are McKenna Cox, Caroline Phillips, Galina Panova, Kiki Hampton, Shannon Reising, Jeff Jakub, Gayle Watson Roper, Jeremy Watson, Laurie Weston, Staci Hardison, Susan Sizemore, Megan McLawhorn, Will Mayo, Melissa Smith, Will Reising and Shelley Gentner.
For more on Eagle’s Wings and Dancing With OUR Stars, visit www.eagles-wings.org.