Ames will host another variety show this week, but this time it’s Story County’s Senior Variety Show.

Since 1995, Story County has hosted the “Senior Variety Show” (SVS), a variety show like others Ames has hosted in the past, but all actors and directors are seniors over the age of 60 in the Story County community.

2026 will be their 30th show, as they took off 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

This year’s show is titled “Star-Struck: Stage and Screen” and will take place on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Ames City Auditorium, 520 6th st Ames, Iowa. 

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

Tickets can be purchased here.

The Senior Variety Show is all about community; their goals are to get the seniors involved in the community and showcase their talents, all while promoting a healthy lifestyle for all ages.

Each year, the SVS awards a $10,000 grant to the community that benefits seniors.

Betty Boccella created the SVS in 1995 after working at Heartland Senior Services, and an event was being planned where entertainment was needed.

Boccella based her idea on a book she was reading, “Green Winter: Celebrations of Old Age” by Elise MacLay, and this book’s title became the inspiration behind the whole SVS, “Celebrating Aging Through Performing Arts.”

Their first show was a hit, selling out the auditorium, and the rest was history.

More history on the SVS can be found here.