Over the past few years — and this year is no different — fondness and anticipation for one of the region’s most beloved fundraisers has continued to grow.
The Katie Cares Fashion Show is back for another year, and tickets are on sale today (August 15th). Ruth Reimer, the CEO and Key Spokesperson for Katie Cares, says that the event tends to sell out within hours, even with the increased seating capacity that was introduced for last year’s iteration of the event.
The fashion show, which is held in remembrance of the late Kaitlyn Reimer, is a fundraiser for Katie Cares, a charity with deep local roots that provides comfort to patients and their families in various ways.
One such way is by supplying children going through medical or dental procedures with stuffed animals to reduce anxiety and stress. This practice stems from Kaitlyn’s hospital stay through her battle with cancer, during which time she noted that children with illnesses needed comfort. Accordingly, Kaitlyn arranged for children to be given stuffed animals. These days, Reimer, who is also Kaitlyn’s mother, says the charity gifts quilts to children as well.
“That's what Kaitlyn wanted,” she says. “She wanted to give back in every way that she could, and we continue to honour her in that way.”
For the Katie Cares charity, the fashion show is essential to its operations, especially when it comes to Katie’s Cottage.
“This is our only fundraiser,” says Reimer. “This is important because it pays the bills for [Katie’s Cottage] . . . so that people can come here and stay at an affordable rate of $45.20. It provides us the money to purchase the Ty Beanie Babies that we give out [for free]. It provides things that we need to buy.”
Katie’s Cottage, which offers families who have a loved one in the hospital a tranquil place of rest while they wait, always requires upkeep.
“We're maintaining that building and keeping it beautiful,” says Reimer. “The standard of cleanliness is high. I have an extremely wonderful staff that are so good, and they keep it exactly how we want it, so there are just those things that are so important.”
The fashion show takes place on September 28th. Tickets are $75. There are many ways to get tickets: Interested parties can visit Katie’s Cottage beside Boundary Trails Health Centre to purchase them, call the cottage at 204-312-8445 or 204-362-1173, e-mail Reimer here, or message her on Facebook.
“We have people watching all these sites. You will get tickets,” says Reimer. “Just make sure you do it sooner than later.”
The Katie Cares Fashion Show is more than a fundraiser — it’s also a celebration.
“We want to be able to celebrate those that have come through cancer or some type of illness. We want to celebrate with you. We want to be there with you. We've walked with you and now we celebrate,” says Reimer. “For those that have passed on, . . . we celebrate the fact that we were able to be a part of their lives and that we [can] now carry on what they would want us to do.”
Reimer knows that her daughter would have loved the event.
“Kaitlyn would want us to celebrate because that's who she was,” she says. “She loved to have a good party, she loved nothing more than to be with her friends, so this celebration of life is important. It's important because we celebrate with those who are thriving.”
The Bromantics, a Saskatchewan-based musical group with several award-winning members, will add to the fashion show’s atmosphere of celebration for the second year in a row.
“We had breakfast with them the next morning and they were so impressed with the fact that we had close to 700 people in the building [including] guests, models, [and] volunteers,” says Reimer. “We were blown away with the type of music that they showcased for us.”
The group’s sound is an eclectic mix of classic rock, doo-wop, Motown, and pop, and they are known for their four-part harmonies.
The band will perform before the fashion show and play the music for the runway walk. Reimer says that attendees can look forward to seeing familiar faces from the Pembina Valley on stage as models, including nurses who knew Kaitlyn.
“All of those girls somehow knew Katie, and one was one of the special nurses that Kaitlyn had all the time,” says Reimer.
Local reeves from Rhineland and Stanley and the mayors from Winkler, Morden, and Altona will also grace the stage.
For Reimer, the benevolence of the community is clear through the continued success of the Katie Cares Fashion Show.
“Manitobans, and especially Southern Manitobans [are] a generous group of people,” she says. “That's what they are. They're generous, they're kind, and they're giving.”
Get your tickets for the Katie Cares Fashion Show on September 28th.
~With files from Ty Hildebrand~