Glamour and goodwill at Aurora dinner
The NSW governor, music stars and about 500 other guests will bring a touch of glamour to Town Hall as they raise community charity funds at the Aurora Group’s annual dinner later this month.
Now in its seventh year, the red-carpet event is a key fundraiser for the Aurora Group, which supports community organisations including Twenty10 and the NSW Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service.
Guests at the dinner on Saturday 24 June will dine alongside NSW governor Marie Bashir and be entertained by male singing trio Bravo and musical theatre diva Lucy Durack.
I think this year we’ve got a very exciting event happening, Aurora Group chairperson Jane Marsden told Sydney Star Observer.
Our special guest Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir will, I hope, lift our profile quite significantly.
NSW Supreme Court judge Virginia Bell is the guest speaker this year.
I think she’ll speak eloquently, and she’s a very witty person, Marsden said.
The Aurora Group held its first annual dinner in 2000 to boost fundraising for non-HIV community groups, which had difficulty finding support.
Six years on, the need remains, and Aurora dinner organisers hope to raise about $50,000 from auctions and raffles at the event this year.
The directions haven’t changed. There is certainly a big need for non-HIV organisations in the community to receive funds, Marsden said.
The Aurora dinner is held around the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York to celebrate the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
But glamour will also be on show.
It’s a very glamorous night. It’s an opportunity to frock up or suit up, Marsden said.
We get the red carpet out at Town Hall -¦ it’s just a fabulous night and I would like to encourage everyone to be there.
Everyone who books an Aurora dinner ticket enters a draw to win a Vmoto motor scooter. The first 20 tables to book have the chance to win a catered harbour cruise.
info
The Aurora Dinner is on Saturday 24 June from 6:30pm at Sydney Town Hall. Tickets cost $180. For bookings call 9331 5276 or visit www.auroragroup.com.au.
