2018 Chinese New Year Charity Dinner

A traditional Maori welcome and Sir Owen Glenn opened the charity event which was held at the Ellerslie Racecourse during the Karaka Million. Hosted by the NZ Chinese Jockey Club and sponsored by Hong Kong Airlines. Gilligan Sheppard donated a table – the nominated charity was The Rotary Club of Auckland.
Around the edges of the room were various business display stands as well as items up for auction; artworks, jewellery, travel, destinations, fashion, wines, deer and honey products. On one side, a wall of real flowers had been set up as a background for photos. Laurel (our statutory administrator) wore a skirt that camouflaged her beautifully.
Yi Ping Ge (a GS partner) is an active member of Rotary and her task for the night was to take note of the winning auction bids and help process the transactions. The total auction value was over $23,000!

There was an entertainment piece by Mr Mask from the Sichuan Opera that had me entranced.

He had a clever contraption on his head enabling him to have different faces as he performed. As the night went on, there were also speeches (Rt. Hon Winston Peters), a performance by the NZ Chinese Blossom Art Troupe, a fashion show by Jessica Bridal and multiple lucky draws.
I discovered that 2018 is the year of the Dog – and if it is your year, you should wear red underwear on Chinese New Year Day (February 16^th) as it’s considered very lucky. I think the lingerie shops will think it’s a boomer Valentine’s Day this year! A gentleman at our table, Bob Lu, advised on the tail end of that advice, that luck is what you make of it.
One of our guests, Scarlet Wood won best dressed last year. To our excitement, another of our guests, Eva Ho, won best dressed this year. She had a gorgeous, traditional blue and yellow outfit with a matching yellow fascinator. Her prize was presented by Trelise Cooper.
We enjoyed a little flutter on the horses, predominantly choosing them because of their interesting and devious names. None of us came away better than we had arrived, but it was thrilling in the moment.
There were business dealings happening all over the place, proving that
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“The currency of networking is not greed, but generosity.”
~ Keith Ferrazzi.

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