Photos courtesy of Andrew Collier Photography
Local children’s charity, The Children’s Adventure Farm Trust, was joined by 350 guests and its Patrons at the CAFT Tropicana Ladies Lunch on Wednesday (13th June) at The Mere Golf Resort & Spa.
A record-breaking £60,000 was raised at this year’s event, which will help the charity to provide holidays for terminally ill, disabled and disadvantaged children from all over the region.
Guests were greeted by stilt walkers and a selection of delicious treats (served from a retro VW camper, no less) plus a chance to see the stunning new limo party bus from long standing supporters BK Executive.
Mere staff serving tempting tropical cocktails welcomed the ladies to the event before they were invited to indulge in a spot of shopping, organised by CAFT volunteer Carol Robinson.
A huge range of stalls offered everything from perfume, jewellery and handbags through to clothing, beauty products and candles.
Guests were then wowed by the themed room which came complete with flamingos, exotic flowers and palm leaves.
Entertainment included a ‘Pass The Coconut’ game as well as ‘Hit Or Miss’ and a limbo dancing competition!
There were table gifts for each of the ladies, and all left with the ultimate goodie bag packed with a selection of luxury products from local companies.
Suzanne Brooks gave a powerful speech about her family’s experiences at CAFT, describing how the charity made a huge difference to her poorly daughter Sarah and the rest of her family.
Paul Sleem guided the ladies through the Grand Auction, which featured some impressive prizes – including an exclusive day on the set of Cold Feet (courtesy of patron John Thomson) with an exciting opportunity to star in a scene!
The auction also featured tickets for Katy Perry which on their own raised a phenomenal £6,100!
Once the fundraising was over, George Michael tribute Robert Taylor entertained the ladies with his amazing vocals, filling the dancefloor for the remainder of the event.
Event organiser, Pippa Watton commented: “Just when we think our Ladies Lunch can’t get any bigger, or better, we’re proved wrong!
“This year’s event was a record-breaker and raised £14,000 more than last year – absolutely amazing! Our ladies never let us down when it comes to fundraising and fun, there was a real beach party atmosphere from beginning to end!
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of our guests, and of course our fantastic sponsors, and really can’t thank them all enough.
“There are so many people who worked very hard to make the event a success that I couldn’t possible mention all of them, but without their support this event simply wouldn’t have been possible.”
