Rhapsody for Cancer to return for third year to Yallingup’s Tiller Farm on June 8

One of the region’s largest fundraisers will return next month with the aim of raising thousands of dollars for two children’s cancer charities.

Rhapsody for Cancer will be held at The Tiller Farm in Yallingup on June 8, with about 120 attendees to enjoy a night of glamour, fine dining and music.

The event is the brainchild of Anne Preston Carter, who started the fundraiser after her grandson Kade was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma within the central nervous system of his brain.

She described the diagnosis as “heartbreaking”, and there was nothing the family could do.

“It wasn’t just watching Kade suffer, it was watching my son, his wife and Kade’s siblings have all of their lives turned upside down,” Mrs Preston Carter said.

What started as helplessness turned to action for Mrs Preston Carter, who approached The Tiller Farm’s George Cooper about a potential event.

“The concept for me was I wanted something where people could come along, get dressed up, have a fine dining event for the cause, and feel like all their money was going straight to the charity,” she said.

With an avalanche of support from across the region, the event has been a success, raising $200,000 for children’s cancer charities in its first two years.

One of this year’s beneficiaries is The Pirate Ship Foundation, which supports research into childhood brain cancer, including providing funding to the Telethon Kids Institute’s Brain Tumour Research Laboratory.

Associate Professor Raelene Endersby said the donations provided by the fundraiser were critical to continuing her work to find better treatment options.

“I think a lot of people don’t actually understand how childhood cancer research is funded in Western Australia, she said.

“We 100 per cent rely on either grants we get from the Government, or grants and donations we get from foundations and charities.”

The other major beneficiary is the Kids Cancer Support Group, which provides peer-to-peer support for families who have a child undergoing cancer treatment.

The music for this year’s event will be provided by Busselton’s Phoebe Stewart and Margaret River’s Sash Seabourne, both of whom were finalists in last year’s Australian Idol.

A live auction will be held during the event, which is hosted by former Triple M Southwest breakfast presenter Angie Ayers.

Tickets cost $500 per person and can be bought through Humanitix, with 90 per cent of the cost going to the two charities.