The Shady Ladies Dinner & Celebrity Sunglass Auction rolls the $80,000 Adequan Grand Prix, a ringside dinner, cocktails and live and silent auctions all into one fabulous evening for the benefit of the Lupus Research Institute. Now in its eighth year, the always-popular event will be held ringside in the Wellington Club at the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Saturday, February 9. The evening kicks off at 6:30 with Honorary Co-Chairmen, renowned fashion designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka.
“This is an event run by equestrians. There are so many fundraisers held during the winter season, all for the benefit of worthy causes, but this is an event that’s put together and hosted by other equestrians – Angela and Chris Paradysz and Teri and John Wood,” Kim Tudor, Owner of Tudor & Company, explained.
Angela and Chris Paradysz started the Shady Ladies event eight years ago, because their daughter, Allie, suffers from Lupus –a chronic, complex and prevalent autoimmune disease that affects more than 1.5 million Americans. Lupus is difficult to diagnose because its symptoms come and go, mimic those of other diseases, and there is no single laboratory test that can definitively identify the illness. Lupus is a disease that doesn’t generally show on the surface, and because of that people are often astounded to learn that people they know are afflicted with this serious illness.
“People would be very, very surprised to learn who among their equestrian friends and peers are suffering with Lupus. Many of those equestrians have banded together to come to this event in order to help us put a face on the disease,” Tudor shared.
Since its inception, the Shady Ladies signature celebrity sunglass auction has grown to include elaborate packages accompanying each pair of auctioned sunglasses. Attendees can plan to bid on items like Bruce Springsteen’s sunglasses, coupled with CDs signed by the boss himself.
“Some of the Boston Bruin hockey players donated signed sunglasses last year, and they were packaged with a trip to the game and a VIP suite to watch the game,” Tudor mentioned. “We will have celebrity polo sunglasses. Polo players will combine their sunglasses with lunch at the International Polo Club. There’s a long list of fabulous celebrity items to bid on, including Richard Gere, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Springsteen and many more.”
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In addition to the live and silent auctions, a raffle gives guests another opportunity to leave the Shady Ladies event with a spectacular take-away.
“Everyone’s always excited about the raffle,” Tudor said. “Our event is well known for amazing raffle items which help us to sell $10,000 worth of raffle tickets each year. It’s a lot of fun. Everybody wins at our event.”
The evening is also a win-win for equestrians and non-equestrians alike. The ringside setting will be decorated in the LRI colors of orange and red by David Negri of DN Concepts and is the ideal location to take in the Grand Prix.
For non-equestrian guests attending the event in support of the Lupus Research Institute, there’s no better introduction to the horse show world, Tudor expressed.
“The evening is always a perfect blend of non-horse people and equestrians that have come together for a good cause, and they have the opportunity to witness some of the top Olympic riders compete at one of the finest show facilities in the world,” Tudor concluded. “The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center is ideally suited to this type of fun-filled charity event.”
For further information and to purchase tickets please contact Kim Tudor at 908-512-2828 or kim@TudorAndCompany.com.
