By McCall Reeder
Intern
The Holiday Inn Resort in Wrightsville Beach was home to a retreat full of shag lessons and beach music last weekend when dancers from across the region came to support women across North Carolina who are battling cancer.
The Fifth Annual East Coast Shag Classic, hosted by the local nonprofit Women of Hope, was completely sold out through the weekend, the group’s director of development Penny Mills said. The four-day event, stretching from Thursday, Jan. 28 to Sunday, Jan. 31, offered several beginner and intermediate shag lessons, along with line dancing lessons and concert performances featuring Band of Oz, Fantastic Shakers, Bridges Musical Group, and Jim Quick and Coastline.
The annual event continued to draw loyal shaggers from across the state looking for dance lessons and eager to support the cause.
Kenny Barnes, the event’s co-founder, recalled how wonderfully the shag community has embraced this event and cause, noting that a couple that came for the first time in 2015 came back with eight other couples this year.
Barbara Goff, a shagger from Raleigh, also came with a group of friends. She was in the more experienced class as she told of her and her friends’ previous social ballroom dance class they took a few years ago.
“We don’t dance as much as we should,” she laughed, “but the instructors give so many helpful hints. It’s not too hard for non-dancers with them.” Ken and Sandy Jones taught the lessons for the more advanced class this year and last.
“To support this organization and cause, we’ll keep making the trip down,” Goff said.
Women of Hope seeks to support women from diagnosis to survivorship through financial assistance, patient advocacy, support programs and education.
Barnes said they don’t believe they can give too much to those affected by cancer. His wife Elizabeth’s daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32. Soon after, the couple created the foundation. Barnes’ daughter is now in remission.
“She’s been an inspiration and a lighthouse for us here,” he said.
Women of Hope not only supports the women directly affected by cancer, but their families as well.
“We try to unify the family through the cancer process,” Barnes said.
This year Women of Hope is expanding its services to children diagnosed with cancer and their families.
This April, Cape Fear Community College will host Women of Hope for a physician’s forum. Six doctors from a wide spectrum of fields will address questions from the public about preventative care and patient advocacy. The event will also be simulcast to six locations.
“Knowledge is power,” Barnes said as he explained the emphasis Women of Hope puts on education.
