This spectacular fundraising event saw an incredible £65,000 raised to fund the redevelopment of the Radiology / CT Department at The Christie Hospital in Manchester.
Held on Saturday 9th November, the seventh annual Yabba Dabba Doo was hosted by The DDC Group CEO, Jan Trevalyan. The event was again held at the beautiful Victoria Park in Southport, and boasted a massive 400 guests, the biggest Yabba Dabba Doo to date!
Mr Trevalyan, creator and host of the Yabba Dabba Doo, said: “It`s hard to recognise this as the event that we started out with in 2012 when we had the idea of getting a few people together to raise a bit of cash for a good cause. Six years later, the Yabba has taken on a life of its own, and we`ve managed to raise more than a ‘little bit of cash` – in fact, we`ve raised over £400,000 in this short time.”
The evening’s entertainment started with singer Ali Horn, who serenaded guests during the drink’s reception. Guests were wowed with enchanted garden characters from Neil Hughes Event Entertainment. The fun continued with The Baiana Band during dinner, followed by a spectacular 20-minute fireworks display courtesy of World Fireworks Champions, Blitz Fireworks. The fireworks grand finale was launched by Rob and Amanda Wilson, who generously won the bid to start the show.
The evening was far from over once the fireworks had completed, and guests were ushered back into the marquee where there was further entertainment from singer Steve Charles, Saxophonist Miranda Rimmer, DJ Danny Bee and of course, the sensational bar skills of the Flair & Funk team. Not to mention the live auction, with exceptional experiences and memorabilia to be won; naturally, this raised substantial funds for the cause.
Once the live auction was complete, Hugh Ferris the evenings compère took to the stage to ask how many guests would be willing to give an extra £50 toward Christie`s with the chance of winning £500? Not only did this raise a considerable sum in itself, but the winner Donna Owen donated the £500 back to The Christie fund; generosity on the evening was not in short supply.
There was, sadly, one empty chair at this year’s Yabba. Toby Hester, a lifelong friend of Mr Trevalyan, passed away earlier this year. His support of the Yabba in past years was resolute, and this year was no different. His family’s kind donation of Toby’s bike (more info needed here) raised a fantastic £8,500 at auction.
The night was organised and run by Chantelle Drewery of Having a Ball Events, who worked closely with Mr Trevalyan and his partner Lisa Marriott for months prior to the scheduled date. Mrs Drewery said, “We are overwhelmed with the feedback from this year’s event. Our guests really enjoyed our enchanted garden theme and all the entertainment and characters involved. We want to thank all our sponsors and our guests who donated in the auction and the raffle on the night. Without your support, we would not be able to raise such a significant amount for this incredible cause.
To register your interest in attending next years Yabba Dabba Doo event please contact Chantelle Drewery at info@havingaballevents.com
