A Longridge dance school has started a fundraising drive in a bid to send 17 of its pupils on the trip of a lifetime to Las Vegas.
King’s Dance Academy, which runs from a unit at Chapel Hill Industrial Estate, Longridge, won the Best Newcomer Award at the National Entertainment Awards (NEA) in Peterborough on 21 September.
Their performance also saw them receive the ‘Golden Buzzer’, which means they have the chance to travel to the NEA’s first ever international event in Las Vegas in October 2026.
For Izzy King, who started the dance school during the pandemic with lessons over Zoom, the performance in Peterborough was a dream come true.
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Izzy, from Grimsargh, said: “The performance just goes to show what can be achieved through hard work and it will no doubt open up opportunities for us.
“We are just a small school from Longridge competing against much bigger competitors, so it is amazing what we have achieved.”
A total of 17 King’s Academy dancers competed at the NEAs, ranging from seven to 17-years-old.
She added: “The next step is to compete at London’s O2 in June and then Las Vegas, if we can raise enough money to send them out there. We have started a GoFundMe page and are trying to raise an initial £5,000 to help towards travel costs and what will be the opportunity if a lifetime.”
With about 270 youngsters attending the dance academy every week, and nine teachers guiding them, Izzy is looking to keep pushing her business forward.
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/variety-of-soda-brands-for-sale-in-a-quebec-grocery-store.jpg?id=56146993&width=1200&height=600&coordinates=0%2C12%2C0%2C12"/><br/><br/><p>Starting March 1, buying drinks in Quebec will cost a little more, but you'll be able to get that money back when you return the empty containers. </p><p>Next month, L'Association québécoise de récupération des contenants de boissons (AQRCB) is launching the second phase of its expanded deposit-refund system, which now includes a wider range of beverage containers. </p><p>Everything from wine and spirit bottles to water bottles, milk, and juice cartons — basically, anything between 100 ml and 2 litres — will have a refundable deposit.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DE0m13vpEIv/" data-instgrm-version="4" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DE0m13vpEIv/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">See on Instagram</a>
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</blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><p>Since November 1, 2023, the deposit on most beverage bottles has been 10 cents, including beer cans over 450 ml (which previously had a 20-cent deposit). The aim was to make deposit amounts more consistent across various types of containers.</p><p> Come March, nearly all beverage containers will be covered by the program. For most containers, the deposit is 10 cents, while glass bottles of 500 ml or more will have a 25-cent deposit. This means when you buy a bottle of wine or a pack of bottled water, you'll pay a bit more upfront, but you can get that money back by returning the containers at one of the new drop-off points.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6oo7B9tkl1/?img_index=1" data-instgrm-version="4" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6oo7B9tkl1/?img_index=1" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">See on Instagram</a>
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</blockquote><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><p>According to a <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/quebec-takes-action-phase-2-of-the-deposit-expansion-begins-in-one-month--867285934.html" target="_blank">press release from the AQRCB</a>, the province has been gradually upgrading its deposit system since 2023, with a goal to double the number of containers returned and recycled. The target is to recover five billion beverage containers per year and raise the return rate to 90% by 2032. To make the process easier, more return locations have been added across the province, including Consignaction sites and automated machines at select retailers.</p><p>Although you'll be paying a little extra for your drinks, getting your deposit back is simpler than ever. Rather than going to a grocery store, you can drop off your containers at various return points for cash refunds or use the Consignaction app for electronic transfers. </p><p>For more information on the second phase of the expanded deposit-refund system, you can visit the <a href="expanded%20deposit-refund%20system" target="_blank">Consignaction website</a>. </p><p><em>Love this? Check out our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/notices/" target="_blank">MTL Blog noticeboard</a> for details on jobs, benefits, travel info and more!</em></p><p><em>AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/editorial-standards" target="_blank">Editorial Standards page</a>.</em></p>
