HAMLET — Richmond County Hospice wanted to at least match the amount of money it raised last year at its biggest event, Taste of the Sandhills Showcasing Dancing with the Stars.
That amount was topped by “A Regal Affair,” this year’s theme. CEO Kristina Leyden told the RO on Monday that the money is still being counted but is just above $95,000.
People crowded into Cole Auditorium on Saturday, where the event was sold out, and tried food from more than 20 local bakeries and restaurants before the show.
This year’s event had a theme based on the Netflix show “Bridgerton.” It had a mix of current drama and music with a Victorian feel. Nic Wilkes created the set, which matched the period’s style.
J.C. and Karen Everett were a husband and wife team, as were Brandy Wheeler and Jessica Wheeler White, a sister team, and two mother-daughter pairs, Heather and Chloe Taylor and Katherine and Bayden Bendell. Wayne and Morgan Quinn were a father-daughter pair.
Justin McDonald and Brandi Miller, Dr. Bill Cleveland and Nicole Blake, Tyree Brewington and Rahmeishia McKiver, and Meredith Standridge and Allie Coen were some of the other dancers.
Travis Breen, Eric McCotter, and Kim Menna, who were returning judges, carefully watched each act and gave both praise and criticism. In the end, they chose McKiver and Brewington as the best dancers of the night, giving them the Judges’ Choice award.
The Everetts won People’s Choice because they were the crowd’s best, and Cleveland and Blake won Hospice Choice because they raised the most money before the event.
Schools from the area, the Bold Moves Dance Company, Dance Sensations, a group from Hospice Haven, and the winners from last year all put on shows.
When people chose for their favorite food vendor, Silly Dee’s Cakes came in second and The Grille came in first. The Taco Factory won the award for best table decoration.
The first DWTS show made $23,000, and each year since then it’s been bigger and bigger, with $60,000 in 2019, $80,000 in 2022, and $87,000 in 2023. Hospice put the event on hold in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID virus.