TAB: Fight, Fund, Educate – And Buy Now!

04 Feb TAB: Fight, Fund, Educate – And Buy Now!

The Telluride AIDS Benefit began Friday, February 19, 6-9 p.m. with the Student Fashion Show at Telluride’s Palm Theater. The Sneak Peek Fashion Show follows on Thursday February 25, 8 – 10 p.m. at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village. The Gala Fashion Show takes place Saturday, February 27, 8 – 10 p.m. TAB events end with a sample sale of designer clothes, Monday, February 29, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Sheridan Opera House.

Can’t attend the fashion show? There is yet another opportunity to watch the action. The Town of Mountain Village plans to air the Gala live – on Mountain Village Cable Channel 15 and online at townofmountainvillage.com/video – on 2/27, 8 p.m.

But if you really want to support the cause – and please remember, funds raised by TAB directly change the lives of hundreds and hundreds of families living with HIV/AIDS through TAB’s seven beneficiaries, which do their good work on Western Slope, the Front Range and in Africa –  then participate in TAB’s  first ever BUY NOW auction event  featuring fabulous trips and artwork. Details below.

Never ever underestimate the power of celebrity to draw attention to a cause. When superstar actress Elizabeth Taylor attached her name to the American Foundation for AIDS Research, it became the “in” thing to become involved with the cause.

One of the stars, this one from the art world, who followed Taylor’s lead was legendary Abstract Expressionist and Pop pioneer Robert Rauschenberg.

Starting in the mid-1950s, Rauschenberg became famous for three-dimensional objects he called “Combines.” His use of odd and everyday articles in his work earned him a reputation as a pioneer, whose talents spanned the world of painting, sculpture and dance. In his book, “American Visions, Time Magazine’s former art critic Robert Hughes described Rauschenberg’s protean genius this way:

“… Rauschenberg didn’t give a fig for consistency, or curating his reputation; his taste was
always facile, omnivorous, and hit-or-miss, yet he had a bigness of soul and a richness of temperament that recalled Walt Whitman…”

In 2000, The Foundation for AIDS Research or amFAR, an international nonprofit, honored Rauschenberg with an Award for Excellence for his consistent artistic contributions to the fight against AIDS.

One of the items in the Telluride AIDS Benefit’s fabulous, first ever BUY NOW auction is a Rauschenberg lithograph entitled “Dallas Cares,” 1989, from an edition of 500 prints: $7500. Buy here.

Or you can BUY NOW a trip to Austin, Texas’ legendary SXSW Music Festival.

Happening March 15-20, 2016 in Austin, TX, this package includes 2 Platinum Badges and 5 nights of lodging at the Hyatt Park Place in downtown Austin. Badges give you access to all SXSW music panels, workshops, trade shows, and music events and activities $7,000. Buy here now.

Want to stand out in the crowd at TAB’s gala fashion show, a major glam slam? You can BUY NOW a Beauty Bar Experience before the Big Show, featuring TV personality and celebrity hairstylist Derek J: $1,500. 

Thanks to the generosity of Beauty Bar owner September Calhoun, you can treat yourself and your friends to a full afternoon of beauty on Saturday Feb. 27th at the Telluride Beauty Bar. The experience includes blowouts, manicures and makeup application for four people; champagne, snacks and gift bags; and the fabulous celebrity hairstylist Derek J from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” who will be on hand to help you with all your styling needs.

Buy here.

Cork & Cobbles is an unforgettable cycling and culinary experience. Tour the Alsace region of France with 4 friends on 2 wheels. Guide, lodging and food provided for 7 nights: $10,000. Buy here now.

Is fine wine your thing? Check out this wine package from Domaine Lamarche: $1700. Buy now.

A luxury trip to the Bay Area is also in the offing. Stay for two nights at the beautiful and historic Cavallo Point, the Lodge at the Golden Gate. The venue was ranked #1 hotel in the San Francisco Bay Area by Travel + Leisure. Enjoy two massages and fabulous food: $3,000. Buy now.

In June 2015, nationally renowned local artist Nicole Finger was featured by Telluride Arts’ Gallery 81435 in a solo show entitled “Wet.” (To learn more about the artist, go here.) For Tab’s Buy Now auction, Nicole donated “Leap of Faith,”an original oil from her E-motion series, in which the artist explore figurative motion and the fleeting nature of life.

The powerful 72” x 48” work is just $4,000 if you Buy Now.

While shopping, please remember, though HIV/AIDS may have fallen out of the headlines, though there is hope, there is still no cure. 

According to WebMD:

Preliminary new research raises the prospect that a recently discovered antibody — an important component of the immune system — could be enlisted to boost the body’s response to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

A single injection of the antibody, currently dubbed VRC01, dramatically reduced the level of HIV in the blood of people who hadn’t yet been given antiretroviral drug treatment (ART). ART is the current standard treatment for managing HIV infections, according to the study’s authors from the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md.

But in people who’d already been treated with ART, the antibody injection had no effect on HIV levels, presumably because the ART therapy had already reduced the levels of HIV virus in their blood, the researchers said.

And the researchers were quick to note that the study was small and even patients who respond may not be completely rid of HIV…

Continue reading here.

Then there is the preexposure prophylaxis known as Truvada, a little blue pill that in a study of 657 people prevented the potentially deadly virus after 2 1/2 years of observation. But it only works if used correctly, which means consistently, and not as a party drug.

Bottom line: It isn’t over ’til it’s over.

So help TAB help those in need by Buying Now.