The Center for Economic Empowerment and Development welcomes the 6th Annual Dancing with the Fayetteville Stars on April 12 at the Double Tree by Hilton. The annual event is a charitable fundraiser beneĀting CEED’s Housing Program. The Events and Promotions Director for CEED, Christina Kenon, describes the event as “a show, not just a dinner … we have fun watching the people that we know in our community put it all out there.”

CEED advocates for families and individuals. The CEED website states its mission is “To promote growth, productiveness and well-being through peer counseling, education, information and advocacy programs.”

Kenon described the purpose of the Housing Program as CEED’s effort to “provide nice, safe and affordable houses to a lot of people in the community. We are able to upkeep them and purchase and rehab homes.”

The event begins at 6 p.m., with a vintage Hollywood red carpet cocktail party with a photo booth and cash bar in the Grand Hallway of the hotel. A meet and greet with the dancers is on tap to allow attendees to meet and mingle with them before they take the floor. The vintage Hollywood theme carries over into dinner and dessert along with the fun and entertainment of the dancing.

The event features 20 couples comprised of members of the Fayetteville and Cumberland County community including the reigning Miss North Carolina U.S.A., Olivia Olivera. She is paired with the Vice President of Village Green Related Properties, Franklin Clark. There are married couples competing like Dan and Ashley Culliton and Michael Adams and Babs Wolfe. Respectively, there is a local chiropractor, a local real estate investor, editor of The Fayetteville Observer and a healthcare administrator. Tara O’Neill, who is the Director of Sales for Home2Suites by Hilton, will take the floor with Brandon Odom who is an active-duty officer in the United States Army stationed at Fort Bragg. Candidate for District Court Judge Stephen Stokes and his dance partner, dance instructor Teresa Barnes, will attempt to wow the audience with their style of dance.

The performers have a range in dance experience from novice to professional but all of them have “put in a lot of time and effort to make a good show … these dancers have really worked hard to raise money for our housing program” said Kenon.

The pairs perform routines of merengue, salsa, swing, and others, which Kenon noted “may not necessarily be ballroom.” A

ll of the performances take place in front of the audience at the Double Tree and via a live stream on the CEED website. Each pair is in competition for votes, which will not only raise money money to beneĀt the works that CEED performs in the greater community, but also determines the champion of this year’s event. Fans and supporters are able to vote and contribute online now for the team they want to win; the voting will remain open until the last couple has performed on April 12.

Two ticket options and sponsorship opportunities, which will allow for reserved seating, are available via the website, www.ncceed.org/dancing.

Tickets are expected to sell out; Kenon recommends to “Get them fast.”