A country-inspired medley by Wayne McDonell showed the local earthmoving contractor could also move on the dance floor for top billing, which he shared with Erin Quarmby, who performed a Britney Spears routine, complete with head shave.

A cancer survivor, Mr McDonell incorporated whip-cracking in his sequence which included the Doobie Brothers 'Listen the to the Music', and at last count had added $37,000 to the coffers once the charity auction figures were taken into account.

Master of ceremonies Robyn Evans, a 2017 contestant who shared the role with inaugural winner Sandro Tranfaglia, said Ms Quarmby's performance caught the 450 people who attended the evening off guard when, in true Britney style, she cut a swathe from her long hair.

"We put it to the floor to see if anyone would like to finish the job," Mrs Evans said saying a patron bid $5000 for the opportunity.

"It was amazing," Mrs Evans said.

Cancer has also had an impact on Ms Quarmby life, with her father and mother battling the disease while her brother in law Ben died in 2015 from merkel cell carcinoma.

"I just wanted to raise as much money as I could really so I was thinking, I've had family members and friends that haven't had the choice to shave their heads so...I did it for them," she said.

Ms Quarmby, who has been on the event's committee since 2016 but was a first-time performer on Saturday at the Function Centre, said she'd decided to shave her head back in 2020 when the Stars of Orange was originally scheduled.

"There were no second thoughts, I'd been growing it since 2010," she said

"It [her routine] was so much fun, the shave aspect of it didn't come through quite as well as we'd planned, I didn't get as much hair off in the actual dance that I wanted to but I think everyone got the idea."

"Britney's so relevant at the moment, she wasn't so relevant when we decided to do it. Last year when I decided to do it she was still under the conservatorship so I was a little bit worried it would be a little bit political but this year's she's free so it took some of the pressure off.

"More so now, I picked her because of the head shave ... and everyone loves Britney."

Ms Quarmby's total was nearing $27,000 yesterday afternoon which she was delighted with.

Mrs Evans said the scene-stealer of the evening was the performance of Bathurst-based drag queen Betty Confetti, who was also a judge on the night.

"She did a little act for us, which, if you were gluten intolerant you needed to keep your mouth shut because she came out and does a dance called 'all that Jatz', she was an absolute hoot."

Saturday night's Stars of Orange was the culmination of a two-year build-up after the event was scheduled for 2020. COVID-19 forced its cancellation, which it did again in 2021, just one-and-half hours before it was due to start.

"We were all getting a little bit ... 'is this ever going to happen'," Mrs Evans said.

"We just wanted to give these people their moment of glory because people's lives chance so much. Someone like Tom Corrigan who has moved to Port Macquarie but came back [to perform] for the event," Mrs Evans said.

Cancer Council western regional manager Ricky Puata described the evening as 'ground breaking' and thanked the dancers and their dance schools for getting behind it.

"I think there was definitely determination across our stars and our committee and our dance schools and our Cancer Council staff to make sure the event went ahead, in a COVID-safe way, I believe we were able to achieve that last night.," he said.

"I think we delivered quite a milestone event really."

Mr Puata said funds raised would go towards a number of Cancer Council initiatives including the Lionel and Joan Smith House in north Orange which provides accommodation for patients undergoing treatment, and their families.

"It also goes towards our 13 11 20 information support phone line, which is staffed by cancer health professionals," he said.

Locally, the Cancer Council also funds vehicles to help transport patients to treatment appointments.

Mr Puata said in the last two years, the Cancer Council has allocated a staggering $36 million dollars raised by communities in NSW

"Two years ago it was 19.8m and then 16.8 last year," he said.

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