The 11th Annual Big Band Dance is a chance to put on your finest clothes and boogie to the swinging sounds of Bulkley Valley jazz musicians.
This year’s event takes place Feb. 15.
Dancers will be serenaded by the Junior and Senior Jazz Bands and the North of Dixie Jazz Band.
There will be spot dances, a silent auction and a midnight lunch.
This year, B.C. trumpet legend Donnie Clark will be accompanying the bands throughout the night. Clark is a professional musician, adjudicator and clinician who now lives in the Kootenays.
The dance begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s School auditorium.
“The hall will be impeccably decorated as if you are entering a fancy dance hall from a bygone era,” said Smithers Secondary School music director Mike Doogan-Smith.
Tickets always go fast, he said.
“We have an excellent response every year. Sometimes people have requested tickets as far back as the fall.”
The proceeds of the fundraiser go right back to the Smithers Secondary School band program. Doogan-Smith said money raised will help them offset the costs of a pair of upcoming tours — to Cuba with the Senior Concert and Jazz Bands on April 25 and to Prince Rupert with the younger students.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at Mountain Eagle Books and the Smithers Secondary School office.
No minors are allowed as alcohol is being served.
The 11th Annual Big Band Dance is sponsored by Bulkley Valley Band Boosters and Horncraft Music.