The very funny Emmy award-winning Leslie Jordan will be back in Tulsa to host the 10th annual Red Ribbon Gala benefiting Tulsa CARES (Center for AIDS Resources, Education and Support) beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Southern Hills Country Club.
This will be the third time that Jordan has lent his comedic style to this red-letter event. Jordan is best known for his television and film roles in "Will and Grace," "Boston Legal," "Reba," and "Sordid Lives." He is currently filming an HBO pilot "Twelve Miles of Bad Road" with Lily Tomlin and Mary Kay Place, and he is starring in the new CW show "Hidden Palms."
Jordan just finished writing the book, "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet."
The evening will begin with a silent auction and cocktail reception featuring a fabulous red martini bar, and the local band Hero Factor will provide the musical entertainment.
The gala's honorary chairwoman Suzanne Warren and gala co-chairs Pat Chernicky and Robert Coffey will welcome guests to the benefit for Tulsa CARES, an agency that provides social services for low-income men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS throughout northeastern Oklahoma.
Rick Hollingsworth will give the invocation, and Jay Litchfield will lead the auction.
Some of the goodies on the auction block will be beautiful antiques; amazing vacation packages to Santa Fe, N.M., Bucks County, Pa., New York City, and Jamaica; private dinner parties; and a custom-beaded item from Linda Stevens, who creates one-of-a-kind pieces of art.
Contributing artists include P.S. "Pat" Gordon, Otto Duecker, Matt Moffett, Marshall Noice, Sacha Barnett, Jeff Brierley, Sarah Diggdon of the Gathering Place, Claudia Doyle and Mikey Coy of Brush Works Gallery, Janet Duvall, Virginia Harrison, Leslie Headly, Kevin B. Hardin, Lou Hogsdon, Mark Lackey, Cynthia Marcoux, Byron Shen, Amy Rocket-Todd, Craig Wood, and many others.
Even Tulsa CARES board members Toni Garner and Susan Sadler have joined the fun. Garner will donate a year's worth of beautiful flowers from her shop, Toni's Flowers, and Sadler will donate a stunning pair of diamond earrings.
A new addition to this year's gala is the website, www.redribbongala.org, which features descriptions and pictures of many of the auction items.
"The Red Ribbon Gala helps to support some of Tulsa's most needy citizens," Tulsa CARES Board President Robert Coffey said. "For 15 years, Tulsa CARES has provided support services for people living with HIV/AIDS who are unable to receive services anywhere else. The Red Ribbon Gala is our largest fundraiser, and the proceeds allow us to help us serve more than 500 individuals each year."
Southern Hills chef Devin Levine will create the menu, and Garner is in charge of floral designs.
"The funds raised from the Red Ribbon Gala allow Tulsa CARES to offer a wide range of services to our clients," said Pat Chernicky, Red Ribbon Gala co-chair. "The gala's success helps provide professional case management and mental health counseling, food pantry and nutrition services, financial help with rent and utilities, plus information and resources to help family members."
For ticket information and sponsorship opportunities, contact Bruce Lewis at 834-4194 or [email protected].
