The Health Foundation Gala is going to be a little more country this year. The theme of the 2016 event is Denim and Diamonds, and the event takes place October 22 at the St. Mary’s Cultural Centre.
Diane Rusnak, Chair of the Gala Committee, says that their goal was to bring it down a bit from last year, which went very formal in order to celebrate the 20th year of the event. It’s a bit more casual, but Rusnak is excited to see how people interpret the theme.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of interesting outfits this year, you can use a lot of imagination.”
The theme will influence the menu, provided by St. Mary’s. There will be portraits provided by Mitch Hippsley of Photography by Mitch, a piece of jewelry donated by Sherring Gold Jewellers to raffle, as well as a silent auction with 40 items donated by local businesses. Live music will be provided by local band Steve Jesmer and the Takers.
The committee behind the Gala thinks hard about the theme each year, because they want to keep the Gala as an event that people are excited about attending.
“We are constantly thinking about something unique, something different, something that the general public would like to come out and attend. We really feel that Gala is the one event where people can come out, dress up a bit, have a fun evening and support the Health Foundation.”
Over the years, Gala events have purchased over $525,000 of medical equipment for the region. This year the equipment is going to be monitoring equipment for the Intensive Care Unit, explains Ross Fisher, Executive Director of the Health Foundation. The upgrade plans are for the central monitoring station, to bring it up to date with current technology, as the existing station is ten years old. The second piece of equipment is telemetry equipment, as the current equipment is getting out of date and needs replacemnt.
“Our ICU is small, and often ICU patients are in the general population of the hospital. Telemetry equipment allows us to attach wires and monitor patients within the general population but their data goes back to the monitoring systems in ICU.”
Tickets are $125 each and can be purchased at the Health Foundation by calling 306-786-0506, visiting the Health Foundation office on Betts Ave. or by visiting www.thehealthfoundation.ca. Tickets are limited to 350 people, and Gala frequently sells out.
