Dance for a Wish slated for Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m.
Cowboys and cowgirls will dance the night away and grant a few wishes in the process next week.
The fourth annual Dance for a Wish charity dance is slated for Friday, March 6 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds President’s Hall in Bremerton. The festivities kick off at 7 p.m.
Don Frazier, event chairman, leads a group of volunteers affiliated with the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede to organize the fund-raising event.
“In the last three years, we have put in over $120,000 into the community,” Frazier said.
Each year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the NW, Camp Agape near Gig Harbor and the Fisher House at Fort Lewis receive money from the charity dance.
“We try to do the best we can with what we get,” Frazier said. “So if it’s $500 or $5,000, it’ll all go back into the community.”
Thanks to money raised at Dance for a Wish, two local children with life-threatening medical conditions are granted their wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation each year.
“We grant two wishes and we like to make sure those wishes get granted here in Kitsap County,” Frazier said.
Children with cancer and their families travel to Camp Agape to spend time together and Dance for a Wish helps make that possible.
Fisher House supports wounded military members and their families. While a member of the Armed Forces is being treated at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fisher House allows the man or woman’s family to live nearby while their family member recovers from an injury or battles illness.
And for the second year, a portion of proceeds from this year’s Dance for a Wish will be donated to the Chittenden Scholarships. Former Kitsap County Fair Board Vice President John Chittenden died in 2007 and money raised at Dance for a Wish will go toward the scholarships in his name. The scholarships
are available to local high school students.
The Olympic College Culinary Arts students will prepare gourmet hors d’oeuvres and desserts for Dance for a Wish and Frazier said the event also will donate money to the culinary program.
This year’s event features live country music from the Nathan Chance Band and “roving entertainment” by Roberto the Magnificent. Roberto will travel to each of the 55 tables juggling, riding unicycles and performing other stunts for the hundreds of guests in attendance.
“It’s a chance for folks in the western community to get out their good Wranglers and good Stetsons and the ladies can get out their good fringe,” Frazier said. “This is a cowboy good time.”
Aside from live entertainment, dancing and food, Dance for a Wish has both a live and silent auction. Live auction items include trips to the San Antonio Rodeo, National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, a big game hunting trip to Wyoming and golf packages. There are upwards of 40 silent auction items up for grabs as well.
“There’s a variety of things, there’s not just one thing,” Frazier said. “We like to keep the live auction short because people want to get out there and dance and party.”
Frazier said there is a big surprise at this year’s Dance for a Wish that people have to come and see for themselves.
“This year there’s a big surprise and people need to come if not for another reason than to see the big surprise,” he said.
To get Dance for a Wish tickets, call (253) 225-0781 or (253) 884-3207 or get tickets at the Kitsap County Fair office, Salon Eleven Fourteen in Manette or Westsound Bank in Port Orchard. Tickets are $30 per person until March 1 and $40 at the door.
