THE FIRST ANNUAL VANDERPUMP DOG FOUNDATION GALA
On November 3rd, 2016, The Vanderpump Dog Foundation hosted our first annual Gala at the Taglyan Cultural Complex in Los Angeles. The purpose of our Gala was to raise awareness about our efforts to end the dog meat trade, draw attention to our current and future campaigns within the US and raise money to continue our Foundation’s work. The Gala was a complete success – hundreds of people gathered together to celebrate dogs, and help us improve the lives of abused and mistreated dogs both domestically and internationally.
The Gala’s red carpet opened at 6pm, with a beautiful candlelit cocktail hour and a silent auction. Celebrities and attendees bid on a variety of donated luxury items; from hotel stays to dog beds and diamond earrings. At 7:30pm the doors opened to a stunning ballroom complete with pink roses and cherry blossom trees, for a dinner that included music, dancing, celebrity performances, celebrity speakers and a live auction.
The incomparable Mario Lopez began the evening and continued to host throughout the night. The Vanderpump Dog Foundation’s founder, Lisa Vanderpump, made a heart-wrenching and moving speech, while introducing the trailer for our upcoming documentary “Road to Yulin.”
The night kicked off with an amazing performance by Leona Lewis singing our Stop Yulin Forever campaign song “(We Are All) Looking For Home,” that was generously donated to the Vanderpump Dog Foundation by award-winning songwriter Diane Warren. Eric Benét also gave a fabulous performance to the attendees, which was followed up by a lighthearted performance (complete with dancing dog costumes!) by some of the troupe and pros from Dancing with the Stars.
Many of Lisa’s close friends showed up to support the cause, including a wonderful amount of celebrities who helped raise awareness on the red carpet and through social media. Real Housewives cast members Gretchen Rossi & Slade Smiley, Taylor Armstrong, Stephanie Hollman, Eden Sassoon, Joyce Giraud, Dorit & Paul Kingsley and Kyle Richards & Mauricio Umansky were in attendance. Vanderpump Rules cast members Jax Taylor, Kristen Doute, Brian Carter, Brittany Cartwright, Scheana Shay, Stassi Schroeder, Peter Madrigal, Katie Maloney-Schwartz, Tom Schwartz, LaLa Kent, Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval and James Kennedy came out to support. Other celebrities including Extra’s Mario and Courtney Lopez, Dance Moms’ Nia Sioux, Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles’s David Parnes and James Harris, Terri Seymour, Christy Gibel, Bruce Vilanch, Mohamed Hadid, Julz Tocker, Fortune Feimster, and Rochelle Aytes were also in attendance.