While the event is still about two months away, details for the 8th annual Starlight Gala are starting to fall into place.
“The Palmerston and District Hospital Foundation and over 50 volunteers are heavily into preparations for [the event],” gala chairman Ron Ellis said in a recent letter to Mapleton council.
The fundraising goal for this year’s event, to be held on May 24 at the PMD arena in Drayton, is $150,000.
Proceeds annually go towards the highest priority project at the Palmerston hospital, which this year is the replacement of all intravenous pumps and colonoscopy sterilization equipment.
To help maximize the fundraising efforts, Mapleton council unanimously agreed on March 11 to waive the rental fees for the arena and community hall for the event.
The gala annually changes venues, and Mayor John Green said the township waives the fees every time the event comes to Drayton.
In his letter to council, Ellis said, “This year’s event, we are certain, will prove again to be one of the social events of the year.”
He explained that his team has already had discussions with PMD arena staff, including manager Sandra Good, and looks forward to partnering with members to transform the arena into “a facility fit for a gala event.”
Last year, with the help of Norwell students, the decorating committee transformed the Palmerston and District community centre into a medieval setting.
The 2007 Starlight Gala raised over $187,000, with proceeds going to the hospital’s new dialysis unit.
