Fashionable fundraising
Models line up Friday for the runway show’s finale.
The Evening on the Runway show is really all about helping the DeSoto, according to event organizers and participants.
“This is our second year,” said Michelle Picon, a member of the Historic DeSoto Theatre Foundation. “We’ve made some huge steps in growing this event and hope to make it the signature event for the foundation.”
The show is 100 percent local. It features clothing from Rome’s stores worn by local models, including high school students, town celebrities and business people.
The show is a big commitment, with more than 50 models who showed up as early as 1 p.m. to get hair and makeup done, so the show could start at 7 p.m. Friday. The DeSoto was abuzz all afternoon as finishing touches and final run-throughs were completed.
Co-directors Leslie McFall and Amie Sabourin were exhausted but happy as they watched their well-coiffed models.
“It’s a lot of moving
pieces,” laughed McFall. “It’s basically a six-month project, and the last month has been the craziest, because we’ve been
finding models, promoting and writing the skit. It all comes together.”
Lawyer Kay Ann Wetherington walked the runway for a good cause, she said.
“This is my second year,” she said. “You want to do everything you can to support the DeSoto.”
Wetherington is used to being on the stage, so to speak, since she spends her days in the courtroom.
“However, I’m more used to people listening to what I have to say than looking at what I’m wearing,” she said. “But this is fun.”
Lacey Pinson, theater and dance teacher at Model High, is proud to be able to support the DeSoto, she said.
“This is my first year in the runway show,” she said. “I love helping out people I know, because these are business owners that I see all the time and it supports the arts.”
Picon said the foundation members are hoping to see the show expand and grow.
“I dream of having such a big show we have to set up a screen outside so it can be seen on Broad Street,” she said. “We sold out tonight, which is wonderful.
It’s growing, expanding.”
The money raised pays for renovations to the theater, she explained.
“We’ve done some great work on the theater so far, and we have more we want to do,” she said. “We want to renovate the stage, fix some electrical issues, update the lighting and the controls. We want the DeSoto to be the premiere venue for Northwest Georgia.”
The event not only offers an opportunity to raise money for the beloved building, but offers a chance to show what Rome has to offer, Picon said.
“We show what is available on Broad Street, from the clothing to the flowers to the jewelry,” she said. “We had people tell us after the first runway show that they could not believe we could produce something of this quality.”
The show also creates a strong sense of community, she said.
“We love the partnerships we’ve created,” Picon said. “It’s addictive, when you become involved and you always think about what comes next, what you can do next. It is so rewarding and encouraging to see how the community responds to this event.”