The ALCC, which helps provide legal assistance to those with HIV/AIDS, hosted the event at Sidetrack for the 10th consecutive year. The evening featured cocktails; French and Turkish cuisine provided by J&L Catering; live entertainment; and a silent auction with more than 100 items available, from restaurant gift certificates to sports and theatre tickets.
More than 300 guests received passports with stamps representing the various stops on the historic train’s journey from Paris to Istanbul and numbers that corresponded to free raffle prizes. Toward the end of the evening, renowned dancer Kerensa DeMars performed both classical and modern Turkish dance.
Ricardo Cifuentes, the ALCC’s director of development, said this year’s event was one of the biggest in recent history and that the organization hopes to raise $35,000 between the registration costs and silent auction bids.
“At an event of this nature we do more than raise money,” Cifuentes said. “We meet so many people … we’ve gotten board members out of this event, volunteers and consistent donors.”
Because most grant money and foundational support goes to specific ALCC projects and services, all money raised at Orient Express helps cover general operating costs. Photos and text by Steven Chaitman