Katie Cares is shaking things up for its 12th annual Celebration of Life Fashion Show next month.
Tickets for the popular fundraiser in support of the non-profit and its respite home, Katie’s Cottage, go on sale Thursday, Aug. 14 at 9 a.m.
This year’s event is moving to Morden, taking place at the Access Event Centre on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Also new this year is there are two different time slots for people to choose from: a 12:30 p.m. matinee and a 7 p.m. evening show, each with their own bands and raffle prizes.
“We have a raffle with so many beautiful prizes,” said organizer Ruth Reimer said, sharing that the matinee show will feature music from M’Ladies while the Bare Yogis will take the stage for the evening show.
The events will both include a charcuterie board, a sparking wine reception, and a full bar.
“We tweak it a little every year,” Reimer said. “Lots of tweaking and making it better and better.”
Although there are two shows, it’s still about the same number of tickets as in past years.
“We’ll do 320 seats at the matinee and then again at the evening show,” she said. “We did 684 there [at the Meridian Exhibition Centre] last year and we wanted to kind of keep it similar and not go too far backwards.”
She’s excited at the opportunity of potentially drawing people from further away for whom the evening show simply didn’t work.
“We’ve already had inquires about, let’s say, a seniors group from Carman. They can drive out together on a bus, come for the afternoon, and then they’re home for the evening.”
As always, the models strutting the catwalk are people whose lives have been touched by cancer. They’ll be sharing their stories.
“They’re also going to hear stories of what it means to stay at Katie’s Cottage,” Reimer said. “We have a guest who’s going to be sharing that, and we’re going to hopefully have some parents share what getting a Beanie Baby meant for their child.”
Katie Cares hands out thousands of Beanie Babies and other care items to children receiving treatment in local health care facilities each year.
The fashion show is always a sold-out event, often within days of tickets going on sale.
“We have not had an event where we’ve not sold out,” Reimer said, urging people to book their seats early to avoid disappointment. “I think it’s going to go fast again this year.”
It’s $75 per ticket (with a $50 tax receipt) or $600 per table ($400 tax receipt). Tickets can be purchased starting Aug. 14 at Katie’s Cottage or by calling 204-312-8445 or 204-362-1173.
Katie Cares also has its online auction running this fall in partnership with Grunthal Auction Service.
“That’s creating a lot of excitement,” Reimer said. “There are a lot of good items up for grabs.”
Go to grunthalauctionservice.com to see what’s on the auction block. The auction opens Sept. 20 and will close the day of the fashion show.
Both these fundraisers are vital to the operations of Katie Cares, which includes offering the families of patients at nearby Boundary Trails Health Centre an affordable and welcoming place to stay.
“We rely on our fundraisers and then the grants and donations,” Reimer said. “We work hard to be fiscally responsible with that money, being truthful and transparent and honest in how we spend it.”
