This is the 24th year for the annual Evening of Decadent Dessert, which takes place May 11th at Westerner Park’s Parkland Pavilion.
“It started out as a small bake sale and it has developed into this amazing event with decadent cakes and tons of local bakers who come together and create amazing things,” said Melissa Vine, fund development coordinator for Aspire.
This year’s goal is to raise $130,000, which organizers say is within reach.
Vine said the main focus of the event is the live auction, where the cakes are auctioned off to the crowd.
“We have some amazing professional bakers who do these cakes for us. Some of those cakes will be by themselves and auctioned alone and some of them will be paired with a package.
“Every live auction package has a cake, so there’s lots of cake,” she said with a laugh.
The evening features around 16 local bakers and also includes lots of local restaurants and bakeries donating cakes to the dessert buffet, which everyone will get to enjoy at the end of the evening.
With over 500 guests in attendance each year, the event has lots of things for everyone to enjoy including a champagne reception, various raffles, entertainment, a dinner buffet, a decadent dessert buffet, photo booths, a children’s raffle and of course the live auction featuring one-of-a-kind cakes paired with unique experiences.
The children’s raffle, which has been ongoing since January, will be drawn that evening.
Tickets are $5 and there are only 10,000 tickets sold. The first place prize includes an SUV, the second is a diamond ring and the third is a cash prize.
There is also a Spin To Win raffle as well.
“It’s a busy night. There’s lots to do and see,” said Vine.
Tickets are $100 per person or $750 for a table of eight.
“All of the funds raised from these two fundraisers – the Aspire Children’s Raffle and also Evening Of Decadent Dessert – go directly to Aspire,” she said.
She added the funds will go towards things like fee assistance for families who are struggling to afford their Aspire fees, along with specialized equipment and programming.
“When you have a child with special needs there are a lot of extra costs that are associated with that in regards to therapies, taking time off work to get to appointments or perhaps dealing with illnesses depending on what’s going on with your child.”
Vine said the support from the community has been incredible.
“We have great supporters. We have fantastic support from our families and also the business community as well in Red Deer, and even people who don’t necessarily have a direct tie to Aspire.”
Doors to the event will open at 5:30 p.m. and charitable tax receipts will be issued for a portion of the ticket price.
