The annual Red Charity Gala brings together the industry’s finest people to celebrate a night of glamour and generosity. Now on its seventh year, the live auction event is set to be even better this year—all for charity, of course.
“The trouble we have every year is topping ourselves every time,” says gala co-chair Tessa Prieto-Valdes. All thanks to the generous donations that always rake in the millions, “this vision that came into fruition several years ago is still burning,” Tessa continues.
With just a few weeks away till the actual event on Oct. 16 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, we asked Tessa and co-chair Kaye Tinga on what to expect on the biggest night of giving back.
#1 London-based desginer Lesley Mobo will to do runway show
“We always choose a Filipino designer with a global impact,” Tessa says. The past years’ galas gave us the likes of Furne One, Michael Cinco, and Cary Santiago, to name a few. “This [year] is none other than Lesley Mobo from London,” she reveals.“His 40-piece collection will be centered on Tudor romance towards the end of The War of the Roses with kitschy glamour via Studio54,” Kaye chimes in. “This year, we promise to defy expectations with an amazing talent like Lesley.”
#2 There will be a “swag room”
The select few who were able to reserve a seat at the gala have something good waiting for them. This year, some humor is injected into the event. “We have more giveaways [this year]. So many [that] we have decided to have a giveaway room. We’ll have a “swag room” just like the Oscars,” Tessa reveals. No, not just a bag, but a room! And yes, even these generous contributors get to take home sweet parting gifts, as well.
#3 A great Parisian escape up for grabs
Of course, the night’s main event will be the live auction to be hosted by Tim Yap and Tessa. Guests get to bid on surprise items for auction. But Tessa and Kaye revealed that part of the list is a great Parisian escape, a Balesin membership share, and a few pieces of fine jewelry. Tessa says, “Every year is supposed to be a silent auction but it’s the loudest silent auction with me and Tim.”
#4 Expect to get a little tipsy
The charity gala promises to be night to remember (or also something that will be forgetten the morning after). Tessa and Kaye joke that the more drunk the guests become, the higher their bids will be. Consider it a ploy, but hey, all for charity, right?
#5 100 percent of the proceeds goes to these charities
The main point of the night, after all, is raising funds for their beneficiaries: the Philippine Red Cross and the Assumption High School Batch 1981 Foundation, as in previous years. The gala has also become the middlemen between companies and the gala’s charities, especially during the time of calamities such as Typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake. This is proof that all of gala’s effort this one night every year is never in vain and a huge help for the ongoing restoration of the victims’ homes.
The Red Charity Gala 2015 is happening this Oct. 16 at the Makati Shangri-La. For more information, visit their website.
Photo by Patrick Segovia