Phasakorn Channgam
Celebrities, public officials and community leaders
turned out to help the Hard Rock Hotel raise money for charity and kick off
the holiday season with its 9th annual “Charity Christmas Tree Light Up.”
A rare
image of His Majesty the King, which Gen. Kanit Permsub brought to the
charity auction.
The December 4 “Night with the Divas” event saw the hotel
light its giant Christmas tree and host a concert from two well-known Thai
songstresses, along with hold a charity auction, with proceeds going to two
area schools and a pan-Asian fund for poor children.
Gen. Kanit Permsub, deputy chief aide-de-camp General to
His Majesty the King, together with his wife Khunying Busyarat, Mayor
Itthiphol Khunplome, Former MP of Chonburi Chanyuth Hengtrakul and Pattaya
Mail Managing Director Pratheep Malhotra were among the many officials and
community leaders on hand for the festive evening around the Hard Rock’s
large swimming pool.
Gen. Kanit noted the Hard Rock has a long history of
supporting needy causes across Thailand, with last year’s Charity Light Up
benefitting the HRH Princess Sirindhorn Foundation, an Ayutthaya nursing
home and Sattahip’s Ban Amphur School.
Gen.
Kanit Permsub, the honorary advisor to Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, speaks about
the details and objectives of the project.
This year, he said, proceeds from the charity drive will
again support the Ban Amphur School, as well as the Chonburi Agriculture and
Technology College’s World Preservation Project, which teaches environmental
preservation and organic agriculture, and the Melissa Cosgrove Children’s
Foundation, which aids orphans in Thailand and across Asia.
Ban Amphur School, established 80 years ago, is a small
primary school in Sattahip that doesn’t have enough government support for
poor families in the area. The Hard Rock is helping to fund improvements at
the school, including a cafeteria and kitchen.
This
guitar signed by Simply Red was one of the fabulous items put up for auction
with proceeds going
to charity.
The funds for the Agriculture and Technology College will
fund an organic agriculture project that teaches alternatives to chemical
fertilizers and pesticides.
Finally, a portion of funds raised will go the Melisa
Cosgrove Children’s Foundation, which was established in 2003. It’s a
non-profit organization with branches in Thailand, Myanmar and Pakistan. Its
purpose has been to support underprivileged children, children living with
HIV/AIDS, street children living in slums, and orphans in Asia for more than
18 years.
After the Christmas tree light-up, guests were invited to
the Hall of Fame where a lavish buffet was laid out replete with a huge
suckling pig grilled on a spit.
Diva
Panadda Ruangwut gives a great performance.
The charitable revellers then settled in for the Divas
concert featuring Kaem Witchayanee, winner of the 2008 Star Entertainment
Awards and fourth Star Search, and Panadda Ruangwut, runner up in 1995’s KPN
Awards.
A fun filled auction was also conducted by the talented
‘rising stars’ Tony Malhotra and Rungratree Thongsai who coaxed and cajoled
guests into bidding for a host of prized auction items, including many
portraits of His Majesty the King with his mother the late HRH the Princess
Mother Srinagarindra including pictures of HRH Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn. These unique and rare pictures were donated by Gen. Kanit
Permsub and Khunying Busyarat who brought them from the Royal palace.
A guitar signed by members of British pop band Simply Red
fetched 80,000 baht. Many other items including a black leather jacket from
the Hard Rock Cafe in Phuket, hotel and meal vouchers, and a guitar signed
by both of the evening’s divas brought in a generous amount of baht for
charity.
(l-r)
Tony Malhotra, Jorge Carlos Smith, Peter Malhotra, Khunying Busyarat and
Gen. Kanit Permsub, Santa Claus, Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome and Rungratree
Thongsai gather for a photo in front of the lit up Christmas tree.
(L to R)
Jorge Carlos Smith, Gen. Kanit Permsub, Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, Khunying
Busyarat Permsub, and Pratheep Malhotra jointly light-up the Hard Rock
Christmas tree.
Rung and
Tony vowed the crowd with their vivaciousness on stage, bringing in solid
bids for the auctioned items.
Diva
Kaem Witchayanee not only performed spectacularly,
but also donated her guitar to the charity auction.
