Tickets on sale for annual Rotary International Dinner

Tickets for the annual International Dinner, co-sponsored by the Corbin and London Rotary Clubs, are now on sale.

The event, scheduled for March 28 at The Arena in Corbin, will feature more than 30 dishes to sample from more than 25 countries, including Japan, Greece, Pakistan, Poland, Ethiopia, and Nepal.

“We can always add more if anyone is interested in participating,” said Joe Caldwell, Past President of the Corbin Rotary Club and Past District Governor, one of the event organizers.

While most of the chefs provide the food they prepare, the Rotary Club is able to help chefs who would like to cook for the event but are unable to furnish their own ingredients because of the number of people involved.

Caldwell said more than 500 people are expected to attend.

Tickets are available through any Corbin or London Rotary Club member, or at The Arena box office. Tickets are $35 or $350 for a full table of eight.

In addition to the dinner, there will be a silent auction.

Caldwell said organizers are still finalizing items for the auction. However, donations of brand-new items, or collectables, are welcome and encouraged.

“If someone has a condo in Gatlinburg, Outer Banks, or something like that to offer for a weekend or a week, we would really appreciate it,” Caldwell said.

Rotary International is a 501c3 non-profit organization, so all donations are tax deductible.

Proceeds from the event go to the Rotary International Foundation to help the final drive to eradicate polio worldwide.

“In 2018, there were about 50 children effected. This year, there are about 100, worldwide,” Caldwell said.

According to Rotary International’s website, the organization has been working for more than 30 years to rid the world of the disease. The organization has contributed more than $1.8 billion toward that effort, vaccinating more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries.

“Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan,” Rotary officials stated.

“If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year,” officials stated.

Those interested in tickets, who would like to serve as a chef, or to donate items to silent auction may contact Caldwell at 524-6475.

Additional information is available on the Corbin Rotary Club Facebook page.