Brian and I recently attended the annual Singapore American School PTA Gala. We had never been to the gala and we figured it would be fun with friends. The theme this year was "Eye on India" and the event offered a 4-course Indian meal with wine pairing, a silent auction, a live carpet auction, concluding with live music and dancing. We got tickets with our friends the Vores and the Hunts and our lively table was one of the last groups dancing at the end of the night so we were happy with our choice of table mates.
When Brian discovered the gala was Indian-themed, he immediately asked if we would dress in Indian attire because his boss had received an ornate outfit on a recent trip to India. I really didn't care to wear a sari but when Brian borrowed the Indian attire, I knew I needed something India-inspired, simply because it was so fun to see him wearing it! My friend Peta generously loaned me a dress she had bought prior to a trip to India for a wedding last fall and I appreciated the one-size-fits-all approach to Indian attire because while Peta is quite a bit taller than me, the dress still worked okay for the evening.
A few weeks before the gala, I received an email from the PTA requesting donations for the silent auction. The email read something along of the lines of, "Do you have a villa in Bali? A private jet? Would you be willing to donate their use for the silent auction?" Emails like those don't exactly entice me to attend the PTA gala but thankfully the event itself wasn't stuffy. Nearly everyone was dressed in Indian attire and that gave it a light-hearted, costume party feel. Brian was the center of attention the entire evening, as fellow Americans wanted to know where he had found that outfit and Indians told him how stunning he looked, while mentioning it was traditional wedding attire.
Brian with Our Friends Karl and Anna
Of course, if you're dressed like you're going to a costume party, it's a good idea to go to the correct hotel for the event. We took a taxi to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, walked into the lobby looking for the ball room, only to realize the event was actually at the Mandarin Orchard Hotel, about 10 minutes from home. The employees at the second hotel didn't look at us nearly as strange as the first and knew exactly where to direct us!
The live carpet auction was fascinating to watch because I had never seen one before, although they're quite popular here. Several rugs were displayed in the corner of the ballroom and after dinner, the auction began. While we were not in the market for one of these carpets, I enjoyed watching what other people would bid for them and at bids of $10-15,000 per rug, SAS made a nice amount from the auction alone.
The PTA Gala was a fun evening with friends and I would definitely consider attending again next year if we have the opportunity.
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