on Gosselin – formerly of “Jon and Kate Plus Eight” – will be DJing from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Mountain Valley Golf Course restaurant Deck Party tonight.

By phone, Gosselin said Wednesday that he’ll play from 135 to 175 songs, using a mix as indicated by response, playing to the crowd. He described his taste as “old school” with a lot of new music too, country, rock, whatever the crowd wants to hear.

“I really know how to blend it,” Gosselin said. “The point of DJing is to keep people there – music is to keep people together.”

Gosselin’s connection to Schuylkill County is Darnell Young, who works for Reading & Northern Railroad. Gosselin, who is from Wyomissing, met Young when the two were enjoying an evening out at a club called Building 24, Wyomissing. The two had mutual friends, struck up a conversation, and have been friends ever since.

“It was Darnell that said I had to go to Mountain Valley,” Gosselin said. “He said it was the best club, the hottest place in the county.”

The Path to Reality Star

Gosselin was the middle child of three boys, born to Pamela and Tom Gosselin, who are of French, Irish and Korean descent. His father, who passed away in 2005, was a pediatric dentist.

Jon and Kate married 20 years ago; the two divorced in 2009. The two met at a picnic in 1997, just two years after Jon graduated from Wyomissing High School. They married June 12, 1999. Twins Madelyn and Cara came in October 8, 2000; and sextuplets Aaden, Joel, Collin, Leah, Hannah and Alexis were born May 10, 2004.

As is common in multiple births, the sextuplets were 10 weeks premature. Local media covered the sextuplets; at the time of their birth there were only 13 sets of sextuplets in the country.

When the sextuplets were 17 months old, in 2005, the Discovery Health Channel filmed a special called “Surviving Sextuplets and Twins” and did a follow-up a year later. Both specials got terrific ratings, and the couple was offered a series which launched in April 2007. They were filmed three or four days a week, as Jon & Kate Plus Eight became a hit nationwide and beyond.

The struggles of young parenting, plus the challenges of filming the show, took their toll on the marriage, Gosselin said.

“We were married young and had kids young, and that was a lot of stress,” Gosselin said. “You get fame, money, publicity – and you either grow together or apart.”

The children are grown now and Gosselin keeps busy with a solid schedule of DJ gigs, appearing at venues all over the country. But his preference is for local work in the Reading, Allentown and Philadelphia areas, and possibly now, the addition of Schuylkill County.

“Darnell (Young) says Mountain Valley is the best place to go,” Gosselin said. “I’m looking forward to it and hope to play for a great crowd.” Mountain Valley Golf Course is located at 1021 Brockton Mountain Drive, Barnesville.