The Pink Game women’s basketball game against Winthrop and UNC-Asheville.
It was like a sea of pink around the arena with tables of vendors and people sporting their breast cancer pride.
The Pink Game took place on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Wilma Sherrill Center and Kimmel Arena at UNC-Asheville.
The Pink Game is an event held each year to raise money for breast cancer awareness and this year it consisted of a basketball game and a fashion show.
The event also gave breast cancer survivors and their families a couple of hours before the game to walk around the arena and see different tables of vendors. Each table had something different to offer. There was a silent auction table, a t-shirt table, and a Lancôme station to get a makeover.
The silent auction table auctioned items like a one hour massage package from Suraj Spa and Salon, a La Lanne’s Power Juicer, and a Ralph Lauren Polo cologne and after shave gel package.
The tickets for the Pink Game event were $15 and included admittance into the basketball game, the fashion show and a wine and cheese intermission in between the two main events.
The different vendors and sponsors of the event included Belk, Mary Kay cosmetics, and Miche handbags.
Gloria Peters, a 79-year-old breast cancer survivor, has been living in the Asheville area for over 21 years and has come to the Pink Game event at UNCA each year.
“It’s so nice to see all of the different vendors that come out each year and are willing to donate so much for the event so that the foundation can get more money for research”, said Peters.
The women’s basketball game against the Winthrop Eagles and the UNCA Bulldogs began at 2 p.m. and during halftime the winners of the silent auction were announced. Winthrop won in a close game with 57-54.
Shortly after the basketball game, the fashion show sponsored by Belk began. UNCA student athletes and coaches modeled outfits on the basketball court.
The outfits were auctioned off as the models displayed them to make more profits for the event.
Erin Punter, the Director of Marketing and Promotions for UNCA and the coordinator for the event, thought that overall the event went really well and was a great day.
“I think the attendance will continue to grow throughout the years that we hold the event and hopefully the Asheville community will look forward to the event as an important fundraiser”, said Punter.
Punter also added that she was “most excited about the connection to breast cancer survivors because recognizing and celebrating them is a big part of why the event is held each year.”
The announcer for the basketball game included statistics throughout the game such as 2.9 million women in the U.S. are affected with breast cancer and approximately $3.9 million have been raised for cancer research.
Around 650 people were in attendance at the event and $950 were raised from the sales of the t-shirts, silent auction items and outfits from the fashion show. The total amount raised for the event, including ticket sales, will be known at a later time. The money raised will be donated to the Kay Yow Foundation, the Mission Health Foundation, and Ladies Night Out Program that allows women to receive free physicals to check their health and mammograms to check for lumps in their breasts.
