A gala event for a good cause is bringing some fashion, fun and gourmet food to Parksville.
Called The Lunch – A Fashionable Afternoon by the Sea, the second annual ovarian cancer awareness and fundraising event will include a champagne reception, fall fashion show by The Bay, live and silent auctions, a keynote speech by a renowned surgeon and researcher, and a three-course gourmet lunch emceed by CBC radio’s Sheryl Mackay.
Sharon Wood, Ovarian Cancer Canada society member and co-organizer, said she is particularly excited about the unique jewelery that will be raffled off.
“Amy Newsom designed some beautiful pieces incorporating a sunflower,” said Wood pointing out that is the society’s flower.
There will be a custom made necklace made by the Qualicum Beach designer on each of the 15 tables, which people will get to see up close and then have a chance to win.
Newsom described her pieces as: “healing gemstones encased in elemental design with graceful interpretations of flora and fauna.”
“I think the cause is an important one,” she said. “A dear friend of mine was an ovarian cancer survivor and she often expressed dismay at how little was being done in the fight against this dreaded disease. I have decided to make it my main charity during my career.”
Wood, who spearheaded the first lunch after losing her mother to ovarian cancer, said there are some great developments and new research which Dr. Sarah Finlayson, an assistant professor in the UBC faculty of medicine, will speak about.
With the increase in tickets and fun activities Wood said they hope to beat last year’s $18,000, but the awareness is just as important.
She said that while 1,700 Canadian women a year die from the disease, the long term survival rate is 90 per cent when it is diagnosed early. Education and awareness are considered the best tools for improving survival.
The biggest problem, Wood said, is that the symptoms are so varied, vague and easily missed that even some doctors are unfamiliar with them.
So organizers invite everyone to help spread awareness, gather their friends and family and get the $100 tickets and information for the Sept. 24 event at www.thelunch.ca or from Helen at 250-757-9549 or helen@thelunch.ca.
The lunch is 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Sept. 24 at the Tigh Na Mara Resort in Parksville with proceeds going to Ovarian Cancer Canada.