|
The end of November saw as usual the grande finale events of the annual PGF-Heartt2000 Charity Appeal in support of AIDS sufferers and AIDS awareness.
The timing of this was set to co-incide with World AIDS day which is commemorated each year on December 1st.
We therefore had a very hectic few days starting with an evening beach party held on Jomtien Beach, followed two days later by the AIDS day ‘Walk for Life’ parade though the town and that same evening a gala dinner at Bruno’s restaurant, and finally the following evening a Street party in downtown Pattaya.
The Beach Party consisted of a buffet style meal plus drinks bars all laid out on the sand with tables and chairs set out in front of a stage specially set up for the event.
On the stage a number of acts entertained an audience of over 200, the highlight of which was a performance by the ‘Star Treff’ (yes we have spelt it correctly) cabaret who had brought nearly their entire act from their premises in Jomtien Complex, and there was also a Limbo dancing contest with a prize for the winner.
And of course the inevitable charity raffle with a number of prizes on offer kindly donated by a number of businesses in the Pattaya and Jomtien area.
An excellent start to the week’s events.
A selection of photos taken at the beach party follow, as usual in thumbnail size and to view any of these full size, just click on the appropriate image.
The AIDS day parade is in fact organised by Pattaya City Council and the PGF-Heartt2000 participation is only a part of an event that includes children from many schools in the area plus bands and floats, making up a total contingent of over 4000.
Normally this parade goes down the length of Beach Road and back up Second Road, but this year, due to the on-going roadworks there causing severe congestion, it was decided that instead the parade would assemble at the school at the junction of Second Road and Pattaya South Road and from there march down South Road to the Beach Road but then turn left into Walking Street and proceed down this road all the way to the new Bali High pier where they would then disband.
The parade was scheduled to commence at 3 PM and so shortly before then we gathered at an upstairs vantage point on the corner of South Road and Walking Street in order to view and photograph the event.
However 3 o’clock came and went, so did 3:30 and then 4 o’clock and no sign of any parade – in fact Walking Street which normally only becomes pedestrianised after 7 PM remained open to traffic.
Information gleaned from Allan who was at the school was that the parade was awaiting the arrival of the Mayor before it could set-off.
Eventually around 4:30 he informed us that they had given up waiting and were about to commence, and shortly after police arrived to close off Walking Street and then later as the parade started to appear in the distance, to hold all the traffic coming down Beach Road and turning into South Road.
With the route then cleared, the parade at long last made its way down South Road and into Walking Street.
And once again it was an impressive display with marching bands, school children in various costumes, many designed to promote an AIDS awareness theme, plus a number of floats on the back of trucks of various sizes.
Because of the narrower thoroughfare of the amended route and also the dangerously low overhead cables, some of the larger floats had difficulty making their way through and this caused several hold-ups in the procession.
Also after some time, the held up traffic had caused a jam that we were later told stretched the entire length of the city, so the parade had to be interrupted for a time to let a number of vehicles through.
Then the parade continued including a float in tribute to His Majesty the King who’s birthday is celebrated on December 5th, and also several contributions from local hospitals, most of whom chose a theme of a patient on a trolley (not a real one we assume) being wheeled by several nurses.
Unfortunately the late start and the congestion caused meant that again the parade had to be interrupted to clear some of the traffic and it was then decided to re-route the final floats to direct from the school to the Bali High pier which meant they did not pass our vantage point.
But nevertheless those that did once again helped to spread the message of AIDS awareness to the community.
A selection of photos taken at the Walk for Life parade follow, as usual in thumbnail size and to view any of these full size, just click on the appropriate image.
For a good n umber of us, it was then a quick rush home to shower and change i nto our best in order to attend the gala charity dinner at Bruno’s excellent restaurant.
Fortunately this establishment is only a few doors from Otter Towers allowing yours truly a little more time to re-compose in preparation for an evening’s fine wining and dining.
And we were not disappointed with Fredi, Bruno’s owner laying on a sumptuous 5 course meal, part of the cost of which was donated to the Heart2000 charity.
 A full house of over 100 diners also took part in the prize raffle for a number of really excellent prizes including this antique Chinese cabinet and between this and the money raised from the dinner another large amount was raised.
There was only a few hours in which to recover from the previous day’s events before it was once again time to re-assemble, this time in downtown Pattaya for a Street Party.
This was held in the small Soi (side street) of Pattayaland 3 with the entire Soi being closed off for the evening. At one end of the Soi a large stage had been erected, and decorated with the evening’s theme – A Christmas Party.
The remainder of the Soi was filled with tables and chairs set out by and staffed by the various restaurants and bars that operate throughout it’s length, and the entry fee of 300 Baht also included one free drink from the bar of your choice.
The show was set to commence around 9:30 and already before then there was hardly a seat to be had as the entire Soi was packed from end to end – clearly the previous day’s exertions had not prevented people turning out for this final fling.
The show commenced with a number of songs from the ever excellent Toi, after which our always ebullient host Jim, dressed in his usual array of exotic costumes, introduced (and participated with) the various acts most of which came from various cabaret shows in the area. In this he was able assisted by Mark, also attired in various bizarre outfits, not least the harlequin socks and huge boots, and of course the ever larger than life Dave aka ‘Her Lewdness’.
In between the various acts we were as usual privileged to have address us, Dr. Phillipe Soeur, whose services to AIDS patients have become legendary throughout the area and who brought with him on stage several of the patients he has been treating with money raised by the Heartt2000 charity. A number of donation cheques were presented to Dr, Phillipe including one from Dennis as part of the proceeds raised from the very successful book he has written and had published.
Later on it was time for Santa to make his appearance and to present a small gift to many in the audience and at this point the street Christmas illuminations were switched on.
Throughout the evening raffle tickets were again being sold for the large number of prizes again donated by various businesses in the community including a television and a valuable ring and after the final acts and the release of the balloons, it was time for the last prize draw and as this was the very last event of the year, all prizes had to go with re-draws in the event of no claimant – which fortunately was not required.
As yet another very enjoyable and very successful event drew to a close we were informed that the total amount of money raised throughout the entire year’s events had exceeded all previous records and was now in excess of 3 million Baht.
PGF, Heartt2000 and all of Pattaya – give yourselves a well earned pat on the back.
A final selection of photos taken at the street party now concludes this report. Once again to view any of them full size, just click on the appropriate thumbnail image.
To view any of the above photos in full size, just click on it.
|
