Indian Fabric Fashion Show Will Raise Money for Underprivileged Girls

Quilts, garments, purses and other decorative items made of Indian fabric will be available at a silent auction and fashion show Sunday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Union Ballroom. Admission is free.

The items were created by 28 local textile artists and students to raise money for UW’s Keep Girls in School project. All of the proceeds will benefit Aarti Home in Andhra Pradesh, India, which operates as an orphanage for about 100 young children.

“It also serves as a school for children in the surrounding area and a training school for adult women to learn skills like tailoring in order to improve economic independence for women in India,” says Courtney Thomson-Lichty, a political science major and one of the event’s organizers. “We're trying to help them raise money to move to a greener, healthier location because the current building is extremely close to a waste disposal area.”

The evening will feature Bollywood dancing, belly dance performances by Laramie Dance Center, and an opportunity to vote for your favorite item. The Indian student organization Milaap, Quilt Essentials and the Gender and Women’s Studies Program sponsor the event.

For more information, email Bonnie Zare, UW gender and women's studies professor, at bzare@uwyo.edu.