AmCham Northeast Chapter, in partnership with Shangri-La Hotel Dalian and the International Club of Dalian (ICD), raised over RMB 330,000 ($53,000) for three charity projects during the 6th annual Winter Masquerade Charity Ball. Held Dec. 5, the ball drew a record 680 local international business leaders, expats, young professionals, and members of the media. Tickets were sold out one week in advance, making this the biggest charity ball the city has seen. Shenyang US Consul General Scott Weinhold and his wife, Jamie Weinhold, were among the many high-profile guests in attendance.
The event kicked off with a tree-lighting ceremony and cocktail reception at the Shangri-La lobby lounge, followed by a walk down the red carpet. Guests could pick from a selection of beautiful masks and have their photos taken by professional photographers. Dalian musical favorites LJ Jazz, Afro Band, HorseHorse TigerTiger, and Cronkite Satellite kept guests entertained throughout the evening while a three-course set dinner followed by a Christmas-themed dessert buffet kept everyone's stomachs merry.
The charity auction was the highlight of the evening. Bidders competed for a number of exciting prizes, including contemporary oil painting La Dolce Vita by Christine Hohenstein – a German Artist currently living in Dalian, an exceptional 1974 Burgundy white wine, a necklace of 53 top-grade Japanese Akoya pearls, a bottle of 20-year-old Shaoxing Chinese wine, and several luxury travel packages to Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Taipei, and Singapore.
Proceeds from the auction and raffle tickets will go to the following local charities:
Little Dolphin Recovery Centre – Selected by Shangri-La Hotel, Little Dolphin Recovery Centre is a nonprofit dedicated to training and rehabilitating children with autism. Currently, the program has 60 autistic children and 16 professional teachers. Eight years since it was founded, the center has carried out effective interventions for over 300 children with autism.
Rixin Social Welfare Institution – ICD chose this nonprofit, which focuses on orphaned children. The institution was founded in 1997 and has to date helped more than 50 orphans find adopted families.
Dalian Beacon Vocational School – Selected by AmCham China Northeast Chapter, is China’s first tuition-free, nonprofit charitable vocational school at the senior secondary level, dedicated to provide employment-oriented technical trainings to students from disadvantaged families.
After the auction concluded, attendees threw themselves onto the dancefloor until midnight, the perfect ending to the evening of glamor, sharing, and fun.
