The charity gala with a nautical theme goes swimmingly among the fish at Neptune's Restaurant
Possibly to prevent guests from being distracted by the stingrays, sharks and other fish swimming in the giant water tank at Ocean Park's Neptune's Restaurant, the Changing Young Lives Foundation annual gala dinner on Thursday was packed with performances.
Jointly organised by Sally Thompson and Jane Chao-Lee, the charity dinner was teeming with socialites, all donning nautical outfits - with equal numbers of ship captains and pirates.
After refreshing vodka cocktails served in a cartoon-shark bottle, guests enjoyed their meal at tables adorned with tanks housing live fish and mini-lobsters. Performances by children from the Changing Young Lives Foundation - both locals and from the mainland - followed those by volunteer entertainers, such as pan-Asian girl group Blush.
Linda Wong Hing-ping, who is busy preparing for the release of her long-awaited new CD album, paired up with Howard McCrary to regale guests with their duets including Mandarin classic The Moon Represents My Heart by Teresa Teng Li-chun.
'Jane Chao is a very good friend of mine. She asked me to help her do some singing for people to donate and I said of course,' says Wong, who stepped down from her showbiz career after she got married to Stephen Lee.
'Actually I've done this for the foundation several times already. It makes me very happy. It makes me feel that I'm still useful.'
To top it all off, honorary ambassador Maria Cordero took the stage.
The charity dinner raised HK$2 million for underprivileged youngsters in Hong Kong and on the mainland, partially through both a silent and live auction of over 40 items.