ElderCare of Alachua County hosted its fourth annual “Something New in Orange and Blue 2014” fashion show and tailgate event Thursday night at the Alachua County Senior Recreation Center.
All event proceeds benefited the organization’s programs and services at the facility. Fashion show models wore clothes from John Isaac, Alumni Hall, Belk and Ilene’s For Fashion.
“What we’re doing is previewing fashionable items in orange and blue for people to kick off the football season,” said executive director of ElderCare Anthony Clarizil.
The night began with guest speaker Albert Fox, a member of ElderCare, who explained the role the center’s activities had in his weight loss transformation. He played the song “What Does The Fox Say?” on stage and shook his hips to the music.
“I am a winner,” Fox said.
At about 6:30 p.m., the mix of models began to walk the runway, ranging from seniors at the center to employees from UF Health Shands Hospital and local government.
One of the models, Emily Burris, wore Alumni Hall clothing. She chomped her way down the orange carpet to finish with a twirl.
Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell wore Ilene’s For Fashion and posed twice on the runway with her blue scarf, orange cardigan, blue pants and blue sandals.
Other models walked down the stage with their children and spouses.
“The whole evening ties around sports,” Clarizil said. “We have an event like this so we can continue providing all of our services, with the exception of our fitness center, for free for our members.”
ElderCare is a 100 percent grant- and donation-funded program of Shands. Clarizil said its members are able to come to the facility for activities like Zumba or arts and crafts for free.
After the fashion show, ElderCare auctioned off sporting packages.
Daisy Lopez, a 19-year-old UF economics student and Sigma Kappa Sorority member, volunteered as a greeter.
“Everyone is really happy. Everyone is in their Gator attire,” Lopez said. “It’s nice to see everyone coming together for this event.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 9/5/2014 under the headline "ElderCare holds annual fashion show fundraiser for members"]
