The annual Bras on the Bayou event is scheduled for Monday, October 7 at 6 p.m. at the Steamboat Warehouse in Washington. Proceeds from the event go to SIPS (Savoy Indigent Patient Support), which provides financial assistance to patients receiving treatment at Savoy Cancer Center. Tickets are sold out as is the case every year. Event organizer Connie Lamke, recently named Woman of the Year, said they have raised a total of $30,000 altogether from years past and this is their sixth year doing the event.
“My dad died of cancer,” Lamke said on this event means to her personnaly. “I’ve been doing it longer than he had cancer. I’ve always done things that help others. It’s great that it’s such a popular event. That makes it so awesome. People support it a lot and that makes me very happy. We usually have survivors who attend. We do it to honor them and to raise money for places like SIPS that help people fighting cancer.”
Lamke went on to say how much the event has grown over the years. “For the first year,” she said, “it was upstairs at the Steamboat, and it was 50 people. The chef came to me and said, ‘This is awesome. You need more room.’ Now we’re at a hundred max capacity. The chef pays his staff to be there. They donate all their time and they donate the restaurant.” The Steamboat’s chef, Jason Huguet, will be the host for the night.”
The most entertaining event of the night is the bra contest. Lamke said anyone with a ticket can enter the bra contest where they decorate a bra. The males who want to participate dance in the bras to raise money. The man who raises the most money wins a gift, and the woman who decorated the bra is dubbed “Queen Ta Ta.”
Randy Deshotel, Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court and SIPS president, said of the event, “It’s just fun. It’s a great fundraiser. I’m looking forward to it.” He also said the money stays local, going back into taking care of patients in the community.
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NANCY DUPLECHAIN Associate Editor