Tickets are now available for an annual fundraiser for the fight against childhood cancers and one of the most anticipated events for ladies of the lower Coast; the Red Serge Gala. Some innovations (there’s talk of a possible Harry Potter-themed surprise) plus many of the long-time favourite components that have been part of the special evening for more than 20 years are being prepped for 2024’s rendition, set for Sept. 10.
Coast Reporter sat down with gala organizing chairperson Kristi Wiebe and five others working on the evening’s details at the event venue, West Sechelt’s Holy Family Catholic Church Hall, to hear about the plans. Also attending was Wiebe’s spouse Mark, a Sunshine Coast RCMP corporal and one of the cyclists in this year’s Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast (his third tour), which the gala supports. Joining Cpl. Wiebe on that eight-day, 800 km charity ride along the B.C. coast this fall will be a fellow detachment member, the mysterious Cst. Maxx Danger.
2024 Gala highlights
According to the gala group, Cst. Danger has already developed “a following” and to honour and capitalize on that notoriety, the signature cocktail at the gala will bear his name. Add in a four-course gourmet meal prepared by Gibsons Buono Osteria and served to guests by uniformed members of the detachment and the Sechelt Fire Department, the traditional donated door prize of jewelry, well-known Coast auctioneer Ed Hill heading up live bidding on donated goods as well as silent auctions, and a memorable evening is promised by the organizers.
This year’s event guest speaker is Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Dayne Campbell a 15-year Tour de Coast veteran who also completed a 53-day cross-Canada ride in 2023, who is also facing childhood cancer within his own family. Other past tour participants are slated to do an “alumni ride” from Vancouver to attend the Coast event as honourees. Other event special guests will be past year’s “gala buddies," youth from the Coast in the midst of their own cancer journeys, including 2022’s local “buddy” Pender Harbour’s Raylee Mackie.
The most profitable Tour de Coast event
“We don’t have a buddy this year” Kristi stated, choosing to cite that as a positive, stating that now fewer children are being impacted by cancer due to advances in research and treatment funded in part by the thousands of dollars the gala and Tour have raised. 2023’s gala brought in $43,000, and the organizing group did separate activities (to include those outside the female population) that raised an additional $5,000.
“The Coast punches well above its weight when it comes to what we do with this event,” committee member Lisa said. Interviewees relayed anecdotes of how that has been made possible by the generosity of the event sponsors, donors and attendees. “Year after year, we have been pulling in the most amount of money of any branch of Tour de Coast… this is by far the most profitable single event in the Tour de Coast and the Canadian Cancer Society is really thankful and really support us," Kristi noted.
How organizers got involved
Lisa’s involvement with the gala dates back to 2005 when her child was the Coast effort's “buddy." She arrived at the interview sporting her “Cops for Cancer” T-shirt and announced to the group her now adult daughter had just completed a milestone in training for a career as a court reporter.
An example of the level of giving and the excitement that the gala was described by long-time member of the organizing group Catherine. She relayed that it has been a tradition to auction off a $20 bill. Last year that item went for over $1,500. Catherine said she proudly owns a couple of those special bills from past galas.
The tradition of galas involving the RCMP in support of this cause got its start in Alberta and Catherine noted that the first such event on the Coast dates back to the late 1990s. In those early years, she said the ladies' evening was organized by RCMP detachment staff and the spouses of the members. Around 2007, she and fellow current committee member Patti both responded to an advertisement looking for volunteers to take over that task and have continued to serve with that group ever since.
Current committee treasurer Rebecca has taken on the self-assigned duty of documenting the history of the local gala. In a scrapbook, she has collected a variety of tickets, programs and posters from previous years' events, and that is slated to be on display at the upcoming soiree.
There’s a span of ages in the women on the organizing committee, from young moms, a newlywed, to retirees, all projecting commitment to the job at hand and passion for what the event achieves. Their goal is not only to fundraise but to deliver a memorable experience for their attendees, complete with the opportunity to be photographed being escorted to their seats by a uniformed officer.
This year's Sunshine Coast Cops for Cancer Ladies Red Serge Gala tickets can be purchased for $120 at [email protected]
