Candlelighters Ball returns in style in Harrogate and raises £50,000 in a single night

Candlelighters Ball in Harrogate - The master of ceremonies for the evening was HRH Group’s Simon Cotton who also delivered the charity auction.

The event, which took place on Saturday, November 26 was made extra special, being the first one back after four years after the pandemic.

Held with a dress code of black tie and sustainable fashion, guests were welcomed with Henry Lunn singing live, before the Kings Catering team laid on an exquisite Indian three-course meal.

As well as the Tree of Life, which has become a well known fundraiser at Candlelighters events, there was a raffle to win a £7,000 mountain bike, a game of Heads & Tails and a charity auction.

Master of ceremonies for the evening was HRH Group’s Simon Cotton who also delivered the charity auction which raised an impressive £35,000.

The organising committee for the Ball was made up of life-long friends Rebecca Donnelly, Caroline Huber, Angela Fothergill, Charlotte Broadwith and Cleo Tasker.

The evening was particularly close to their hearts this year after Cleo’s 12-year-old son Ralph has recently recovered from over three years of treatment for T-cell Lymphoma cancer.

Cleo spoke about the experience from a parent’s perspective before Ralph took centre stage and spoke personally about his experience and thanked the nurses who had helped save his life.

This was an emotional but also very uplifting speech which 12-year-old Ralph took in his stride and had the audience both crying and laughing in equal measure.

The night finished with a packed dance floor.

Overall, the amount raised for the Candlelighters Charity is now in excess of £50,000.

On behalf of the organising committee, Rebecca Donnelly said, “We cannot express enough thanks for the support of our sponsors.

"To all those who kindly donated prizes, to Simon Cotton and Henry Lunn who gave their time free of charge and to everyone for coming along and being so generous, we just want to shout the loudest thank you possible.”

Candlelighters is a registered charity set up more than 40 years ago to support families facing children's cancer in Yorkshire.