The Black Diamond Final Countdown

The week before the iinet Black Diamond Ball date was surprisingly calm. Normally when you organise- or think about organising- an event on the scale that this ball was you generally think of phones running off the hook, things not being completed and people running around like headless chooks.

Apparently the first event was similar to this scenario back in 2010 however the organisers this year mentioned that they felt calm right up to the guest registration on the night.

The final days included organising and putting the final touches on the silent auction area (spearheaded by myself and another intern), making final pickups of vouchers and mannequins, and helping Jane, The Queen of Theme, to organise and make up the themeing for the night.

Friday involved a full day trip to the PCEC to deliver all the Lifeline goods for overnight storage and easy access on Saturday. The great thing about Friday as well was that everyone was so organised that we got to go home early!

Saturday started at 9am at the PCEC with a whole band of volunteers to help with the setup of the ball. This included placing BDB programs, iinet pens, VIP leaf name places, Lifeline paraphernalia and the table centre pieces.

The Theme for the BDB was a Golden Garden of Eden with the specialty centre pieces being made to represent trees which symbolises life- suiting the vision and mission of Lifeline that each life is precious.

There was a silk aerialist performing throughout the night draped in gold silk and a small white costume. Guests were lucky enough to have glasses of Moet poured by the aerialist as she twisted down from the ceiling.

As the organisers had aimed for 1000 guests (this is how many there were in 2010)- and there were only 500 bought for the night- the Queen of Theme created a chill-out zone in front of the stage where guests could talk to Lifeline telephone counsellors.

Everything was done by 3.30pm and the last job myself and another intern had to do was count the place settings and chairs. This only took about 30 minutes and just as we were collecting our gear to go home and get ready for the event- the flower shop called and asked whether anyone was going to collect the flowers ordered for the MC! We were designated the pickup job which meant that with travel time we only had 20 minutes to get ready for the biggest social event on the Lifeline calendar.

We arrived back at the PCEC at 5.45pm, just in time to take our place on the meet and greet table to register the VIP’s which were arriving early for specialty drinks and canapés.

The Themeing of the Silent Auction area which was spearheaded by myself and another intern (right).

This picture represents 4 of about 65 auction items on display.




Amber Carton
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