Mayor of Knutsford, Cllr Neil Forbes, welcomed more than 150 guests to his Charity Ball at The Courthouse in Knutsford recently.
Cllr Neil Forbes, Mayor of Knutsford (seated) with L-R Mayoress of Knutsford, Jacqueline Forbes, Cllr Samantha Moss, Mayor of Middlewich, Cllr Lesley Smetham, Deputy Mayor of Cheshire East, Cllr Sarah-Jane Gilmore, Mayor of Poynton, Cllr Charles Booth, Mayor of Congleton and their Consorts.
A combination of sponsorship, tickets sales, prize balloons, silent auction, magnificent tombola and raffle ticket sales helped raise more than £7,400 for the Mayor’s local charities – Mid-Cheshire Riding for the Disabled, Knutsford Youth Orchestra and Knutsford Friendship Café.
The Courthouse made a fabulous setting for the event and there was a ‘Courtroom’ theme allowing guests to ‘Dress to impress the jury’.
A delicious three course meal was prepared by Steven Tuke, executive chef from Flat Cap Hotels, and The Courthouse provided drinks for the drinks reception.
The table centres were candelabras, sponsored by Knutsford Bloom; Event Buddha sponsored the production and staging for the ball and lit the room beautifully. WA16 PR was the official photographer for the event and designed the sponsor banners.
Entertainment was generously sponsored by Fisher German.
The first prize goodies on offer were “Up, up and Away” helium balloons, each one containing a voucher for a fabulous night out including vouchers from local restaurants and pubs: Botanist, Brasserie Blanc, Giovannis, Pizza Express, Lost & Found, Eastern Revive, Wine and Wallop, The Lambing Shed, Pastiche, Cranford Café, Old Sessions House, Rose and Crown, The Church Inn, The Dog at Peover, Dun Cow plus others from further afield: The Fishpool Inn, The Chester Grosvenor, Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester and Hollin Hall Hotel, plus ‘nights out’ from Curzon Cinema. Royal Exchange Theatre and Altrincham Garrick.
A silent auction, with prizes including a golf day at Carden Park; a bespoke two-piece suit from Lloyd Hall, an eyecare voucher from Wendy Diddams’ Opticians, an architectural consultation from SiCa Architects, a family portrait from Andrew Collier photography and Physiotherapy or acupuncture from Carmichael Clinic.
The ‘Mayor’s Magnificent Tombola’, with prizes including a chocolate hamper from Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe, an amazon fire tablet donated by Manchester Airport Group and many more bottles and prizes generously donated by local businesses was a great success.
The raffle proved popular with star prizes including a night for two with breakfast at Cottons Hotel & Spa; a perfume gift box from Pule of Perfumery, a throw from OKA and a night for two with dinner at the Cross Keys.
Each table was sponsored by a business and this enabled us to fully ‘brand’ these tables with the corporate identity of the sponsor. Thanks go to Skipper TM, Laytons LLP, Terry Lifts, Ultimate Creative Communications, KDR Recruitment, Flueboost Ltd, Exclusive Finance UK and Warren Partners for your support.
Cllr Neil Forbes said: “Wow. Thanks to the phenomenal generosity of local businesses, matched only by that of those who attended last Saturday’s Charity Ball, we raised £7,421 for the charity fund. The Courthouse and its staff did us proud, as did our volunteer helpers on the night. It certainly was the highlight of my fundraising year.”
Photography courtesy of WA16 PR
