Ronald McDonald house charity – Gala Ball

What a fantastic evening the Ronald McDonald house charity gala ball was!

The people were fantastic, the entertainment was awesome and the money raised was outstanding!!

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If you volunteered for this event feel free to contact me and I’ll give you a complimentary copy of the group photo below.

Volunteers at the Ronald McDonald house charity gala ball with Ronald McDonald himself
Volunteers at the Ronald McDonald house charity gala ball with Ronald McDonald himself

Being an event photographer does have its perks as you get to meet a wide range of people and people which you would not normally have contact with. And in this case it was Erin Molan from the footy show as she was the MC for the evening.

Ronald McDonald house charity with Melissa Gelonese, Erin Molan and Brendan Maunder (aka me)
Ronald McDonald house charity with Melissa Gelonese, Erin Molan and Brendan Maunder (aka me)
Erin Molan as the MC
Erin Molan as the MC

The event was of course sponsored by many people and in this case the major sponsor was Lexus of Canberra so while people were getting their seats men Ronald took the opportunity to get some photos in and around the Lexus vehicles that were in the main foyer.

Ronald McDonald standing alongside a Lexus
Ronald McDonald standing alongside a Lexus

With any gala ball there is always performance to entertain the guests while they eat dinner and this gala ball was no exception.

The have wonderful performance from The Emeralds which are the official cheerleaders for the Canberra Raiders.

The Emeralds - the official cheer squad for the Canberra Raiders performing at the Ronald McDonald house gala ball
The Emeralds – the official cheer squad for the Canberra Raiders performing at the Ronald McDonald house gala ball
Me catching up some of the ladies from The Emeralds
Me catching up some of the ladies from The Emeralds

And this was followed on by some official speeches and a gentlemen that can only be referred to as a speed painter. He would put up a blank canvas and within a couple of minutes would paint some really amazing pictures at the best part is he would do it while the canvas was upside down.

Official speeches
Official speeches
Speed painter doing his thing
Speed painter doing his thing
Up upside down Miss Jane
Up upside down Miss Jane
Lexus of Canberra claiming this speed paining
Lexus of Canberra claiming this speed paining

With some additional fundraising the evening cracked on with the Michael Jackson tribute band which really got the party going as the dance floor filled up quicker than a green pint on St Patrick’s Day. 🙂

Michael Jackson tribute group
Michael Jackson tribute group
One of the Thriller dances
One of the Thriller dances
Doing your thang Michael
Doing your thang Michael
One of the backup dancers
One of the backup dancers

To which the evening’s entertainment ended with a cover band from Melbourne.

Belting out one of her fantastic tunes
Belting out one of her fantastic tunes
The crowd was going off like a frog in a sock
The crowd was going off like a frog in a sock
The view from one of the tables
The view from one of the tables
The freedom of a performer
The freedom of a performer

All in all everyone had a fantastic night and there raised something like $400,000 for the evening which is fantastic.

The night ended with Lexus of Canberra giving away a car in a raffle to which Anthony Minichiello drew the winning ticket.

One of Australia's rugby league greats, Anthony Minichiello picking the winning ticket for the Lexus Canberra car raffle
One of Australia’s rugby league greats, Anthony Minichiello picking the winning ticket for the Lexus Canberra car raffle