Veterinarians International (VI) will be celebrating World Elephant Day in style this year as it hosts Trunks of Love: a Night of Elephants and Champagne. The benefit will be held on Friday, August 12th at the renowned Baker House in East Hampton. Antonella Bertello, Georgina Bloomberg, and Cornelia Guest will be chairing the event, which will honor Christie Brinkley for her “passionate humanitarianism, achievements in animal advocacy, and leadership in championing the cause of elephants” and Asian elephant expert Richard Lair, who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The event will begin with a VIP pre-benefit reception at 6 p.m., followed by the Cocktail Party from 7 to 9 p.m. Attendees will dine on bites from Chef Maurizio Marfoglia of Best Chefs of America, Chef Elizabeth Johansoon of the Swedish Culinary Summer, and Chef Jodi Moreno, author of What’s Cooking Good Looking?. In addition to the food, which will all be sustainably produced and locally sourced, guests will enjoy champagne by Louis Roederer.
However, the event’s main focus will be on Veterinarians International’s Asian elephant veterinary care program, which will fund the building of “two mobile elephant clinics at Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) and its surrounding community in Sukhothai, and the Surin Elephant Kingdom in Thailand, as well as an EEHV (Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus) disease surveillance program for baby elephants who are at risk of this fatal virus”. Once built, the clinics will provide urgently needed services to 265 captive elephants that live in these remote regions, and will be a model for their caretakers by teaching compassionate treatment and proper standards of care.
“Animals and humans are interdependent, and VI promotes animal health in order to preserve the well-being of all species,” explained Veterinarians International founder Dr. Scarlett Magda. “Our Asian elephant veterinary care program is essential not only to the elephants, but for the communities who depend on them.”
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The event’s main focus will be on Veterinarians International’s Asian elephant veterinary care program. (Photo: www.facebook.com) |
The event will also include the screening of a short film that covers the captive Asian elephant emergency and a one-item live auction that features a weeklong excursion to Thailand with the Veterinarians International Founder and Sag Harbor Native, Dr. Scarlett Magda, where the winner will help care for elephants and other animals in the area.
Tickets to Trunks of Love: a Night of Elephants and Champagne begin at $250.
Additionally, Veterinarians International will also be raising awareness about the Asian elephant crisis when they host a Hamptons screening of When Elephants Were Young, which chronicles the life of a captive working elephant. The screening will take place on Sunday, August 14th from 4 to 7 p.m. at The Castle Barn at Nova’s Art Project (60 Millstone Road, Water Mill). Following the viewing, there will be a panel discussion with the film’s producer/director and World Elephant Day Founder, Patricia Sims, as well as elephant expert Richard Lair, and Dr. Scarlett Magda. Tickets to the screening are $39.
The Baker House is located at 181 Main Street in East Hampton. For more information, visit vetsinternational.org.
