R&B singer Estelle to perform in AIDS fundraiser

(CNS): A week of fundraising for the Cayman AIDS Foundation kicks off with the “Scarlet Sky Gala” on 23 November, featuring Grammy-winning R&B singer, Estelle. Tickets are CI$250 per person and CI$2,500 per table at the ARC at Camana Bay, which organisers say will provide “an intimate lounge feel”, and the night’s events will include a live auction for such items as World Cup tickets and an all expenses paid trip to see the Miami Heat play. The week of activities, called “Think Red Cayman”, includes fundraising dress down days, free HIV testing, a candlight vigil and a church service, leading up to World AIDS Day, a release from the Foundation states.

The Foundation has declined to reveal how much Estelle is being paid to come to the Cayman Islands to sing, though it is said to be a “considerably lower fee than is market value for her performance”. However, a spokesperson for Nathan Square Communications, which is promoting the event, said they were hoping to raise CI$25,000 through ticket sales for the Cayman AIDS Foundation outreach and operations costs for 2014, and promised full disclosure after the event.

“Thanks to our generous sponsors, including the Ministry of Health and DART Cayman Islands, the Cayman AIDS Foundation now has a permanent annual fundraiser, which can contribute on a large scale to its annual operating budget, creating additional opportunities for patient support, free HIV/AIDS testing and education programming,” the spokesperson said.

“We felt our kick-off to Think Red Cayman week 2013 should make an impact and we look forward to presenting an elegant and modern evening with neo-soul and jazz, courtesy of Estelle, along with a live auction element and an intimate lounge feel,” said Cherine Usherwood, President of the Cayman AIDS Foundation. “This event will be one of a kind.”

Estelle’s career as an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer is extensive. Her voice has been compared to everyone, from Billy Holiday to Anita Baker. Her many collaborations with Kanye West, The Roots and John Legend (who discovered her) have sealed her place in the neo-soul and hip hop industries. She is best known for her collaboration with Kanye West  on the Billboard-topping track ‘American Boy’, which yielded a Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy for her and West.

Tickets for the Gala are available by contacting 925-6151 or by emailing info@caf.ky.

The theme for this World AIDS Day is "Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths". World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and has continued to be marked since 1988. It is an opportunity to join people worldwide in the fight against HIV, showing support for people living with HIV and AIDS and commemorating people who have died. 

“The mantra for the campaign captures the spirit of this new Caymanian annual movement of activism,” organisers said. “When you ‘Think Red’ you take notice of an epidemic that is changing the shape of our world. Open your heart. Open your mind. Think Red.”

Usherwood and her team and committee members are appealing to the community to become involved in this year’s activities, which includes fundraising dress down days, free HIV testing, a candlight vigil and a church service. For more information on activities, visit Think Red Cayman on Facebook or the Cayman AIDS Foundation.

Think Red Cayman 2013 is sponsored by Dart Realty and the Ministry of Health along with partners Cayman Islands Water Authority, Greenlight Re, PWC and KPMG.