Sweethearts Dinner Theater raises funds for choir program

JayCee McEntire sang “Close to You” by the Carpenters while Laura Hernandez-Arvizu and Samantha Leasburg danced during the recent Sweethearts Dinner Theater. Photo by Vincent Crosbie.

What better way to raise money for Atascadero High School’s Choir Program than to sing? On Feb. 21 the AHS Choir students, along with the AHS Choir Boosters, offered a dinner show and silent auction event called the Sweethearts Dinner Theater at the Atascadero Kiwanis Club Hall.

For dinner the choir students served tri-tip, green beans, scalloped potatoes, and garlic bread. All of the food was cooked and donated by Glen Casey and the Kiwanis Club of Atascadero. A variety of beverages were donated for the evening, including beer donated by the Firestone Walker Brewing Company and wine donated by Jim Saunders and Hearst Ranch along with Frolicking Frog Vineyards.

To start off the evening, the entire choir sang “Se Lontan Ben Mio, Tu Sei,” by Mozart. Throughout the night, the choir performed a variety of songs including solos, duets, and one song performed with choreographed dance moves. Senior Gage Neumann was the Master of Ceremonies for the night and introduced the performers. “It was a wonderful, relaxing, and entertaining experience. The food was great, the company was similarly lovely, and the performers were simply fantastic,” said guest Jimmy Purcell.

Along with the wonderful performances, there was also a silent auction with items donated by the Booster Club parents, which raised about $2,200. Also, 40 out of the 80 available tickets were sold, which raised about $1,400 for the choir, which helped them reach their fundraising goal this year. Alicia Borlodan, who helped organize the event, said, “I was happy with how it turned out this year. The students sang and sounded great. They served, cleaned up, some ran sound for our singers, and they all worked hard. The Kiwanis were happy with the students as well, and they appreciated their energy and enthusiasm as well as their ability to follow directions, their kindness, responsibility, respectfulness and overall performance.” Sophomore Michel Foltz said, “The sweethearts’ dinner was a really fun event; it brought a lot of joy to me.”