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Tickets still available for Mardi Bras and Boxers Ball

4 min read

Time is running out to buy tickets for the 6th Annual Mardi Bras and Boxers Ball.

Hosted by the Team Mardi Bras and Boxers from the Relay for Life of Cape Coral, the event will take place on Friday at the Cape Coral Italian American Club. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

ToniRae Hurley, event chair, came up with the fund-raiser with co-founder Della Booth.

“We wanted to raise money for the Relay for Life because it touched our lives in so many ways,” she said. “The year that we started it, it got the name because the theme for Relay was Mardi Gras.”

Hurley noted that they included “Boxers” with “Bras” to highlight all cancers.

In the first five years, the event raised over $160,000 for the American Cancer Society.

“Last year, we gave them a check for $78,000,” she said. “We pretty much double each year.”

The fund-raiser will feature both live and silent auctions, a French Quarter raffle, wine cork pull and champagne and diamond table. There will be live music, street performers and New Orleans fare.

“They’ll be greeted outside by street performers in true Mardi Gras style and a little jazz band,” Hurley said. “If you’ve never been to Mardi Gras, this is a good taste of Mardi Gras.”

The live and silent auctions will be held throughout the night.

“We have some really nice, exciting and different auction items,” she said.

Some of the items up for bid in the live auction include a trip to New Orleans, a day with a SWAT Team, a champagne sunset cruise for eight on a private yacht and an original art piece by Marie Dyer.

“We have dinner for eight, with wine pairings, in your home,” Hurley said. “We have an extreme undercover day with (Lee County) Sheriff Mike Scott.”

There is also a vacation stay in Cabo San Lucas, in Baja California Sur.

Natasha Verma of NBC2 will serve as the emcee.

A few of the silent auction items include a learn-to-ride a motorcycle for two, dinner and symphony tickets, a two-night stay at the Hampton Inn, swimming with tigers and paintings by area artists.

“We have some cool stuff,” she said.

Tickets for the French Quarter raffle will be sold on site.

“There’s all kinds of different baskets and packages,” Hurley said of the prizes.

In the wine cork pull, participants pull a cork, then match it to a bottle that they take home.

“They range anywhere from $5 to $200,” she said of the wine bottles.

Sip & Send is sponsoring the wine cork pull.

The champagne and diamond table will feature a “Key to My Heart” event, where 100 keys will be sold for $10 each. The key holders then will each try their luck to see if their key unlocks a box.

“There will be a diamond heart pendant, donated by Garcia Robert Jewelry,” Hurley said.

The club’s Chef Ron Saracino will dish out a taste of New Orleans.

“He’s serving five different entrees, and each one will be at its own station,” she said.

A part of the event for several years, the band ROCKER will perform again.

“ROCKER will be playing music throughout the night,” Hurley said, noting that the band is a hit among attendees. “They play a little bit of everything.”

Doug and Carolyn Comrie of the Comrie Foundation have been named king and queen of the 6th Annual Mardi Bras and Boxers Ball. They are also the title sponsor for this year’s fund-raiser.

“The Mardi Bras and Boxers Ball is, obviously, all about Mardi Gras,” she said. “But it is all about cancer, too – it has touched many of our lives in many different ways.”

Tickets are $75 each, or VIP tables for eight are $1,000.

They will be available for purchase through the end of day Thursday.

Hurley noted that if there are any leftover tickets, they will be for sale at the door.

To purchase tickets, call Laurie Morris Wilson at (239) 541-5201 or email laurie.morris@iberiabank.com, or visit online at: www.mardibrasandboxers.com.

The Cape Coral Italian American Club is at 4725 Vincennes Blvd.

The 2015 Relay for Life of Cape Coral will be held in April at Mariner High School.

For information on Relay for Life, visit: www.relayforlife.org/capecoralfl.