Kathryn & the Vixens made a return to the Lip Sync Wars stage Feb. 4 with their version of “Love Shack” by the B-52s, at the annual lip-sync contest hosted by Psi Iota Xi. The quartet includes Stacey Forbes, Ari McIlynn, Kathryn Ray, and Katrina Greene, who donated their second place cash prize of $250 to the Bentley’s Buddies reading program of kids.
Shelley Swift | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — Garth Brooks, Reba McIntyre and Billy Joel took the stage at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts in downtown Greenfield Saturday night.
While it wasn’t the award-winning artists in the flesh, a number of brave volunteers gave it their all lip-syncing to a variety of hits in Psi Iota Xi’s annual Lip-Sync Wars contest.
It was nearly a sell-out crowd for the popular event, which was coming off a three-year break due to COVID.
“I think this is probably our best one yet,” said Katie Ottinger, a member of Psi Iota’s Greenfield-based Upsilon chapter.
“These performers just really brought the energy and fun to the night, and I don’t think it could have gone any better. It was just really special to see the joy the performances brought to everybody in the audience,” she said.
Eight groups and individuals took turns lip-syncing to popular hits like “Love Shack” by the B-52s and “Surfin’ USA” by the Beach Boys.
The goal was to win the most audience support, which came in the form of monetary votes made both in-person and online during intermission.
In the end, the Hearts Ablaze Cloggers came out on top of their comical rendition of “Mountain Music” by Alabama.
Dressed like hillbillies, the group of children and adults danced around the stage while singing along to the music, taking the opportunity to clog during each high tempo chorus.
“This was so much fun,” said the group’s ringleader, Cristy Corwin-Howard, who led the group onstage using a walker to balance out her character’s ample derriere.
Each of the contest’s three winners were awarded a cash prize to be donated to the charity of their choice.
Hearts Ablaze directed their $500 first-place prize to a nonprofit called Turn Away No Longer, an Anderson-based nonprofit whose mission is to positively impact the lives of children in the foster care system.
“I’ve adopted two children through this program, so it’s very special to me,” Corwin-Howard said.
Second place winners Kathryn & the Vixens, past Lip-Sync Wars winners, donated their $250 third place prize to Bentley’s Buddies reading program for kids.
The group was comprised of dancers and dance teachers from Wilkerson Dance Studio in Greenfield — Kathryn Ray, Stacey Forbes, Ari McIlyn and Katrina Greene.
Third-place winners T-Dynamite donated their $100 in prize money back to Psi Iota Xi.
The musical trio of women with black bouffant hairdos flawlessly performed “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss),” a 1963 hit by Betty Everett that was later recorded by Cher.
The three friends — including a former past president of Psi Iota, Terri Resler — traveled nearly two hours from Loogootee to take part in the show.
“It’s an honor to be able to participate and support Psi Iota Xi, which does so many amazing things for the community,” Resler said.
Among the stars of the show were emcees Wayne Addison and Stephanie Haines, who kicked off the evening with their performance of “Back in Black” by AC/DC.
Addison, who has hosted each Lip-Sync Wars since its inception, said he has a blast goofing around on stage for charity.
“I’m willing to make a fool of myself and do just about anything for these nonprofits who are working to raise money for the community,” he said, while dressed in flamingo-patterned shorts and a long sleeve jacket, shirt and tie, a tribute to AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young.
While the total money raised at the event was not yet tallied by press time Monday, Ottinger said it was “definitely more than we’ve raised in the past,” which was roughly $2,500 each year.
“I know we raised substantially more than we budgeted thanks to the generosity of this community and the support of the performers,” said Ottinger, who credited the show’s sponsors for covering the cash prizes, marketing and venue fees.
All proceeds raised will go towards the philanthropic sorority’s many causes, which focus primarily on speech and hearing as well as art, music and literature. The sorority funds a Speech and Hearing Summer Clinic for Hancock County children and an awards program for young artists, as well as scholarships for high school seniors.
“I’m just so proud of everyone who participated. They really rocked the house, and that’s what we asked them to do,” said Ottinger, who had a surprise on-stage performance of her own to round out the night, a rendition of “Fancy” by Reba McIntyre that drew wild applause from the crowd.
