The American Cancer Society's Hope for the Holidays Distinguished Event (previously known as Gala of Hope) will be held in November.

This ACS event, presented by Lexus of Chattanooga and Capital Toyota, will be held on Friday, Nov. 19, at the Chattanooga Westin. The event will start with an hour of cocktails and Hors  d' oeuvres, followed by a live auction, inspirational stories and testaments from a few survivors and honorees.

The evening will close out with dancing to music provided by DJ Green and a toast to a future of HOPE.

According to Curtis Ottinger, event chair and veteran volunteer for ACS, "After a year of isolation and COVID, we all need a little HOPE and celebration as we prepare for the holiday season and bring the close to another year. This year we have planned a festive but elegant holiday event (cocktails, food, live auction, inspirational stories from our honorees and dancing) with plenty of gold, glitter and champagne. Historically, the ACS Gala of Hope has taken place during the late summer months, but with such uncertainties centered around COVID, we felt we needed to wait to celebrate in person. There is no better way to do that, than to toast the holidays with a festive holiday event! This will be a time to get dressed up and enjoy being together, to dance in celebration, and to raise money to provide cancer patients and their families hope in our fight against cancer! Every dollar raised at our Hope for the Holidays event will go towards education and resources needed to fund cancer research, not just for a cure for cancer but for early detection to protect future generations and provide HOPE now and for the future!"

The night will include a VIP Party on the Lawn for those VIP ticket holders, with the main event beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the main ballroom of the Chattanooga Westin. A Patron's brunch will be held on Sunday, Nov. 14, at the Walden Club, as a kickoff to a week of festivities leading up to the main event. This exclusive brunch will be for our Ambassadors and Sponsors. 

Officials said, "We hope you will join us in our unified fight against cancer. This will be an evening for corporate leaders, philanthropists, and advocates within the community to make a difference, to provide hope and inspiration to patients and their families." This will be the first ACS event in Chattanooga since September 2019. 

 Limited Ambassador tickets and sponsorships are still available. For more information and  updates, contact Cynthia Rix, the Chattanooga senior development manager at Cynthia.rix@cancer.org .

 Tickets are available online at www.galaofhopechat t.org.