Doesn’t everyone wear their best underwear when going on an exciting night out? Here’s a way to do just that while helping to get those same essentials into the hands (and onto the bodies) that need them.

Sonya Perkins, owner of downtown Langley’s Forever Yours Lingerie, is hosting A Night at the Carnival on Friday May 29 at Coast Hotel and Convention Centre in the ballroom and conference hall area.

More than just an event with fancy posters and an eye-catching name, this is Perkins’ way of bringing a little bit of the big-city here to Langley. 

The ballroom and conference hall will be transformed into a giant indoor, adult (19-plus) carnival with circus acts, carnival games, a burlesque show and a lingerie fashion show based on the carnival theme.

“In Langley we don’t have a lot of downtown city-type events so we’re bringing a fun city thing here,” said Perkins. “It’s a really fun night out, it’s not just a sit down and watch a fashion show event.”

Tickets should be purchased in advance to avoid disappointment as Perkins noted at last year’s inaugural event, there were only 10 left for sale at the door. The VIP ticket is $65 and includes valet parking, a premium swag bag, and a wine tasting ticket. The $45 ticket includes a swag bag and wine tasting ticket. 

“We have a burlesque artist coming as well,” she said.”

Carnival games are played with tickets which can be purchased online in a variety of packages to avoid the line-ups at the event. But standing in line won’t be so bad with the roaming circus acts, live band performance, and more.

“It’s a themed fashion show with six different themed walks that are sort of carnival inspired,” Perkins noted. 

Doors open at 6:45 p.m. when the games and fun begin. The fashion show is at 8 p.m. For those who find something they love in the fashion show, there will be a Forever Yours pop-up shop set up to make purchases, or guests can visit the store on Fraser Highway.

Visit the store or foreveryourslingerie.ca to find out more and purchase tickets. The money raised goes towards Supportive Start, a project even nearer and dearer to Perkins’ heart than her own bras.

“It’s to raise a bit of awareness for Supportive Start as well as some fundraising as well,” she said of the carnival event. 

Supportive start provides new or gently used bras to women who don’t have access to the undergarments that so many are able to take for granted. 

“It’s just not an option for a lot of women,” noted Perkins. “We put on a bra that fits and clean panties.”

Such a basic need is often not met for those who are homeless, living in shelters, or on the streets. Supportive Start goes further than simply providing a bra to women who need one, though. 

“We don’t just send a box of bras and say ‘have at ‘er’,” Perkins said. “We actually set up fit clinics so that these women receive the same experience that a customer would have in our store. We make sure they [the bras] fit and the woman is comfortable in them.”

The fit clinics provide each woman with two or more well-fitting bras, new, clean panties, and the washing liquid to care for them.

“It’s a whole experience for them,” she noted. “Down on Cordova, it was like Christmas [for one woman] that she got panties that no one had ever worn before.”

The carnival event will help continue the work of Supportive Start to ensure more women can have the confidence that comes from having a basic need met. 

“We can’t save the world, or change the world,” said Perkins. “But we can help, one woman at a time.”

Langley Advance