Friday, December 11, 2009

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

Letters | Opinion | Editorial | Weekend Report
##Cannot access include file###
Partying for a worthy cause By SHAVAUGHN MOSS ~ Lifestyles Editor ~ shavaughn@nasguard.com: Before any sort of exercise, medical professionals always advise that you stretch or warm up muscles to avoid injury. Well, with persons expected to dance the night away at the 16th Annual Red Ribbon Ball, guests need to take the opportunity provided by organizers to warm up their muscles to the sounds of the Royal Bahamas Police Force Pop Band. With a line-up that includes Tony Seymour, Ira Storr and The Spank Band and T'rez Hepburn, they probably won't get an opportunity to sit down until they return home. Seymour, Storr and The Spank Band and Hepburn rocked the house at last year's Red Ribbon Ball, so much so that ball public relations manager Melanie Hutcheson said they decided to bring them back again. "We felt the entertainment was a success, and not broke, so we decided to bring them on again. Last year we had an enormous dance floor, and it was full to the point where people on one end of the floor couldn't see other people on the other end of the dance floor," said Hutcheson. The Red Ribbon Ball scheduled for Saturday, November 21, according to Hutcheson is the premier event of ball season in The Bahamas and an affair everyone should want to attend, because it is always lots of fun. "Our ball is no talking ball . . . we have one speech to welcome you so that you know that you're at the right place, and we go into the food, the dancing and the prizes. And, there's a wide variety of people from all cross sections of society, so we have a very diverse affair," she says. Every year, the Red Ribbon Ball committee seems to outdo itself with the prizes that it offers from year-to-year, and this year, the prizes are once again — fabulous! For a mere $10 you could possibly win trips for two to Paris, France; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Virgin Islands or Washington, D.C. Then there's the sterling silver David Yurman necklace and cufflink set, Versace handbag, Celebration cruise to Ft. Lauderdale, a luxury Givenchy fragrance basket, and custom-designed Apryl Jasmine-designed gown. The door prizes are just as fabulous with one lucky person at each table walking away from the evening with a commemorative Red Ribbon Ball watch. Nadia Campbell has donated a necklace to the cause as well, and Superclubs Breezes has donated a weekend stay. The Nassau Guardian has donated a three-month subscription, while Fluid Lounge has donated two VIP passes and a bottle of champagne. Dolphin Encounters has also donated prizes, and Custom Computers has offered an HP printer and Ipod. Massages, dental checkups, a year's worth of basic cable services from Cable Bahamas, a gourmet basket from Balduccino Fine Foods, a three-month membership to Bally Total Fitness, a printer from the Armoury Company, a two-night stay at The Landing in Harbour Island with dinner, and a Wildseeds gift certificate, will make for some exciting prizes handed out. "While attending the ball is all about having fun, you can also take pride in knowing that you're helping a worthy cause, as proceeds from the profits go to the AIDS Foundation so that they can carry on their work," says Hutcheson. "We have a gala affair that brings people together, but you also feel good knowing that all of the money — every single cent of the profit goes to carry on the work of the AIDS Foundation," says Hutcheson. "It's one of those causes that has touched the life of just about everybody in the country." The Red Ribbon Ball organizing committee aims to raise $50,000 from this year's black tie affair. To date, they have donated $700,000. But, Hutcheson says this would not have been possible without the support over the years from their executive partners, whose support she describes as "staggering." Kerzner International she says gives a $25,000 donation every year, while John Bull gives each guest at the ball a perfume bag, plus gifts to the minister and CEO's wife, and their generous donation to the raffle. American Airlines she says always gives fabulous trips, and she lauded SunBound, an island destination management company which does all of the décor at a fee she says would have probably been low in 1999, much less in 2009. "They don't make any money of off it, but what they do is a donation to the ball," she said. 16th ANNUAL RED RIBBON BALL When: Saturday, November 21 Where: Imperial Ballroom, Atlantis Cocktails: 7 p.m., dinner 8 p.m. Cost: $200 per ticket Dress: Black tie Box office: Colina Imperial, East Bay St. Friday, November 13, 2009