The 2025 Dancing with the Shuswap Stars party is going to shoot for the fundraising stars with a new line-up of community-minded dancers willing to perform a dance routine on behalf of the Shuswap Hospice Society.

The gala event will take place Saturday, November 15, 2025, at the SASCU Recreation Centre. The gala evening’s program is based on the Dancing with the Stars television show, and includes open dancing, gourmet charcuterie boxes, a cash bar and loads of entertainment.

These community-minded volunteers have stepped up to dance in support this event. All of them will be putting themselves out of their comfort zone to learn and perform a dance routine in a few short weeks.

And the fundraising effort starts now! The public can make donations now to support your favourite contestants by purchasing star votes for $5. Each $5 contribution counts as one vote towards their vote total. Advance voting will be combined with voting on the night of the gala to determine the winning dancers. Get voting now at www.shuswapstars.ca

The contestants in the Amateur Couples category are:

• Jason and Trish Schubert – Jason is part of the sales team at Braby Motors and Trish works for the Shuswap Children’s Association
• Dr. Richard Currie and Alyson Stone – A family and ER doctor, Richard is joined by his wife Alyson, who is one of the Shuswap Hospice Society team members.
• Jent and Michelle Hoekstra – This couple is the owner/operators of the North Okanagan and Kamloops Property Guys franchises.
• Mathew Melin and Catherine Parsons – Mathew is a sales director and partner at Access Precision Machining, while Catherine is a senior advisor at SASCU.

This year, we have a new category, we are calling, “All in the Family.” The contestants are all related, and hopefully dancing doesn’t create any family feuds!  The contestants are:

• Father-daughter duo Barry and Meaghan Delaney – Barry is President and CEO of SASCU, while Meghan is a pharmacy assistant, and lover of the arts including singing and theatre.
• Sisters Charlotte and Natasha Charlton – the twins are the owners of the Pink Cherry Café in downtown Salmon Arm.
• Marty van der Pauw and his daughter Lauren – Marty is part-owner of Nico’s Nurseryland, while Lauren is a student at JL Jackson.
• David and Kelly Murray and Auldin Maxwell –  This family trio consists of mom, Kelly, her husband, David, and son Auldin, a Salmon Arm Secondary student who is best known for his Guiness World-Record breaking skills at stacking Jenga blocks.

More detailed biographies and information about the 2025 Dancing with the Shuswap Stars event is available online at www.shuswapstars.ca