For one night residents of Cold Lake were able to escape the Canadian cold for the warmth of India.
On Feb. 6, the Lakeland Humane Society hosted its fifth annual Dawgs and Divas fundraising gala, with this year's theme being “Escape to India.”
“Every year we have a different theme and this year we thought lets go somewhere warm, exotic and fun,” said Cathy Olliffe-Webster, resource development coordinator of the Humane Society. “It's our biggest event of the year.”
Over 400 attendees packed the Energy Centre field house dressed in traditional Indian clothing for a night of extravagant dining and exotic entertainment.
Guests were greeted by a colourful, Bollywood-themed décor. After a meal featuring classic Indian dishes such as butter chicken and curried chickpeas, there were silent auctions, live auctions and a belly-dance performance by the Edmonton-based Desert Rose Dancers.
There was also a henna-tattoo booth and a marketplace selling bangles, scarves and Bollywood-styled cookies.
“We've lived in India, we know India, so it's just a natural fit for us to come to this event tonight,” said Cold Lake resident Kathryn Hotte, who attended with her husband Richard. “We came last year and we'll try to come every year that we can.”
The Hottes believe it's important for the community to support local non-profits in difficult economic times.
“This is an important time right now for the economy in Cold Lake and people should get out and support these great causes,” said Richard. “It's a special experience this year because it's an Indian experience.”
Cold Lake's Image Studios Photographic Arts set up a booth at the gala to take photos for the guests throughout the night. The studio donated half its earnings from the evening to the humane society.
“We've done it every year, it's an awesome event,” said Susie O'Connor, co-owner of Image Studios. “It's super fun for us to be able to eat the food, get dressed up and have a good time.”
The City of Cold Lake was one of the evening many sponsors, recognizing the importance of having an organization such as the Lakeland Humane Society in the community.
“There's a lot of energy and it's good to see, especially in tough economic times,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “It's important for the community to have the humane society because unfortunately there are a lot of animals that are strays here in the area.”
All proceeds from the gala will go to building a new shelter for the Humane Society, which has been operating over-capacity for a number of years.
According to Olliffe-Webster, 600 animals came through the shelter last year, while 350 to 400 animals had to be turned away due to a lack of space.
“I'm in my fifth year working there and we ran over 100 per cent capacity for the majority of the year for the past five years that I've been there,” said shelter manager Kyla Hunter. “We're really trying to fast track (building the new shelter) and we're really trying to break ground in 2017.”
Currently the shelter has kennels for 12 dogs and space for 22 cats. Over the Christmas holidays, the shelter had over 30 dogs and over 50 cats.
“Since Christmas a lot of people have stepped up, a lot of people have adopted a lot of cats but we still have a lot of dogs,” Olliffe-Webster noted. “We are in desperate need for a new shelter, we just can't keep up with all the animals and the sooner we do it the better.”
The Humane Society raised just under $68,000 before expenses at this year's gala. Last year's “A Night in Paris” themed gala raised approximately $64,500 for the organization.
