What do figure skaters, baseball bats, and Olivia Newton-John have in common?
They will all be featured at the upcoming Skate Sea2Sky holiday show, Blades Hit Broadway.
"We picked some of our favourite Broadway hits, and all the skaters are going to bring it to life on the ice," said head coach Kari-Ann MacDonald.
Performances will include numbers from Grease, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Aladdin, Cats and Wicked.
Approximately 200 skaters of all ages and levels are in the show.
The performances are on Dec. 14 and 15.
On Saturday, catch the matinee at 1 p.m. or attend at 5:30 p.m.; on Sunday, there's a 1 p.m. show.
Asked if she is ever tempted to revive previous shows rather than a new one each year, MacDonald quickly said no.
She likes the challenge of starting from scratch each year.
"One is a challenge, and it's fresh. And then, the community gets to see something unique year after year, and the kids seem to amp up. They get all excited. They want to know what's going on, and they just turn it on, and they're ready to perform," she said.
Entrance to the show is by donation.
Skate Sea2Sky is a non-profit organization.
"I really stress to our community we do [each show] out of the love of our hearts. It is our largest fundraiser. We don't put a price tag [on it]. We ask that you pay what you can afford to pay to come enjoy the show. We also have a concession. There's [gift] baskets, as well as this year we went back to a silent auction."
The online auction ends on Dec. 15 at 4 p.m.
Find out more about Blades Hit Broadway on the Skate Sea2Sky website.
'It's very exciting'
Numbers for the skating club have never been higher, MacDonald said, noting that Squamish is restricted by only having one sheet of ice.
"Our numbers for fall are the highest I have seen," she said. "So, it's very exciting. Unfortunately, it's keeping us jammed, and there's obviously not enough ice with having one [rink]."
The adult skate program is thriving, too, she said.
"That's really neat. I mean, skating is not just for the young. If you have the desire to put on a pair of blades and let your steel hit the ice, we will help you figure out how to make it happen," she said with a smile.
Registration for the winter programs is open but filling up fast.
Stars on ice
The current skaters had a fine showing in the annual 2024 Jingle Blades Competition, held at the end of November in North Surrey.
"We had 33 events. We took home 12 medals out of it, as well as all our skaters performed to the tops of their abilities with high performances and a lot of report cards and finishings," MacDonald said.
