16 Sep The Snow Ball – a festive fundraiser for Torbay’s communities

Winter is coming…and so too are all things Christmassy. Already appearing in shops and inboxes, it’s scary how quickly it’ll soon be upon us, so that begs the question: what are you doing in the lead-up to the festivities? With friends, family and/or colleagues? If you don’t mind, I have an event coming up on 21^st November to suggest that happens to be dedicated to a good cause…

Taking place at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, on Saturday 21^st November, 7pm-midnight, will be The Snow Ball – our now third fundraising ball, offering a night of fine dining, fun, and, well, as it’ll be (still too early to say “t’is…”) the season, festivities, complete with Christmas decorations our very kind venue hosts will be putting up a week early, with us in mind!

Anyone joining us is encouraged to dress to impress, for a night that will commence with a welcome drink of Buck’s Fizz. A three-course meal, like the welcome drink, is included in your booking, with a menu consisting of:

Starters: Braised ham hock & herb terrine, a Roast tomato & red pepper soup, or Vegetable Tart.

Mains: Salmon with crushed new potatoes, green beans & sauce vierge, Pork tenderloin with lyonnaise potatoes, sour cabbage & cream mustard sauce, or Linguine with sauce vierge.

Dessert: Classic lemon tart with raspberry sorbet, Sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce, or a selection of Sorbets.

After-dinner tea & coffee will also be on offer, but now that I’ve hopefully appealed to your stomachs, we move on to the evening’s line-up.

This year, the 6os Explosion band will be returning to entertain us live with hits from the 60s, 70s & 80s. This suited-and-booted three-man band joined us last year for our Fire Ball, and certainly went down a treat as a highlight of the evening. Don’t miss out on a chance to hit the dance floor to decades of great tunes.

Now, as previously mentioned, this is a fundraising evening, so amidst the dining and dancing, we will also be running an auction, with fabulous prizes donated from around the Bay by our generous friends. Previous lots have included everything from private performances by local musicians to pleasure cruise tickets, booze aplenty to day passes at many a local attraction. We even had an experience day with SWISCo’s recycling centre go under the hammer previously, so we really do have all sorts on offer.

But if the thought of a bidding war might be a bit much for you, there will also be the opportunity to take part in our raffle, and the good news is that you will effectively be entered into two draws – one for prizes drawn on the evening of the ball, and our Grand Draw in December. So, if you miss out on one, you’ll still have a chance with the other.

The Snow Ball is a fundraiser for Torbay Communities, as like many charities and community groups across the country in recent years, we’ve sadly felt the pinch and had to tighten our belts financially in order to be able to continue supporting thousands across the Bay. Torbay Communities has quite the assortment of projects and programmes under its care, so suffice to say that requires quite the investment from multiple streams, including generous donations and funds raised by our local communities.

Feathers in our cap include the Torbay Community Helpline, a one-stop (or should I say, one call) service to connect locals with charities, groups or services that can lend a hand in times of need; the Community Builders, our friendly local team who are on a mission to connect/reconnect many to their local community with all that happens around Paignton, Brixham & Torquay; and Active Lives Torbay, a programme for living longer, better, through learning about exercise, activities and diets – to mention just a few.

If you’re interested in joining us for a truly glam, festive night, all in aid of Torbay’s communities, tickets are now on sale online, available for £65 per head, or for a party of ten, you can get your own table for £600. Order from here on our website, or contact us by emailing [email protected] or calling 01803 212638.