Date Time Gala dinner serves up $40,000 for annual appeal A charity dinner featuring culinary delights from some of the city’s top chefs has raised almost $41,000 for the annual Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Appeal. Kicking-off the fundraising for this year’s appeal, the second annual 5-Star Chefs for Charity gala dinner was held at Shangri-La The Marina Cairns on Saturday evening (24 July). Themed “A White Christmas in July”, the event was attended by 160 guests, who were treated to four-course dinner, prepared by the head chefs from Hilton Cairns, Pullman Cairns International, Shangri-La The Marina Cairns and the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino.