Rockinghorse Wonderland Ball raises £62k for sick children in Sussex
Monday 30 November 2009
A staggering £62,000 was raised at
Rockinghorse’s 14th Annual Wonderland Ball on Saturday 28 November.
The event, which was sponsored by Skerritt Consultants, saw The Grand Hotel in Brighton transformed into the world of Lewis Carroll’s most famous creation, Alice in Wonderland, complete with characters from the much-loved children’s story.
The evening kicked off with a drinks reception, followed by a three-course dinner at the Mad Hatter’s tea party, an endearing themed performance by K-BIS Theatre Group and an evening filled with music, dancing and fairground-inspired games, such as pin the tail on the Cheshire cat.
Guests tapped their toes to music by string quartet, Oopsie Mamushka, and Sussex-based band Murdoch’s Crazy Eyes filled the dance-floor within seconds with their repertoire of classic songs.
The auction raised close to £9.5k and
an astounding £22.5k was donated by guests during the evening. The fabulous
auction prizes were kindly provided by local companies and included such
packages as a week-long break in sunny Spanish resort La Manga and a foodie’s
fantasty, which included an exclusive food critic experience with Andrew Kay
and a cookery lesson for eight at Jamie Oliver’s Recipease, along with other food-related items.
Attendees had great fun popping balloons for the balloon raffle, which raised £3, 500 and saw winning guests leave with a holiday in Mallorca, a night’s stay at the Hilton Metropole and dinner for two at The Meadow, amongst other prizes.
GMTV Correspondent Marcella Whittingdale hosted the evening for her fifth year: “I love getting involved in the Rockinghorse Wonderland Ball, it always proves to be a great evening and this year was no exception.
“Everyone has been so generous,
especially in these tough times, and – on behalf of Rockinghorse – I cannot
thank people enough for their support: the money will make a huge difference to
sick children throughout the county.”
Ms Whittingdale is actively involved in raising money for children’s charities and is currently preparing to head out to Afghanistan to broadcast from Camp Bastion over the Christmas period.
Gavin Fisher, Chief Executive of Rockinghorse, said: “We are truly humbled by the support we have received.
“A huge thanks goes out to our sponsors, Skerritt Consultants, to Marcella for being our fantastic host once again, to all the companies who donated prizes, and last but most certainly not least, to all of our guests – we really couldn’t have done it without you.”
