Columbia “goes red” for heart disease awareness

WHAT: Second annual Go Red Columbia Fashion Show

WHERE: Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, 1101 Lincoln St.

WHEN: 6-8 p.m. Friday, March 11

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, according to the American Heart Association, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year.

So how do you get women involved in learning more about the disease without sounding like a PSA?

Create an all-red fashion show, of course, and have local celebrities strut their stuff down the catwalk for a good cause.

The Go Red Columbia Fashion Show, set for Friday, March 11, was created by Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who has made health care a major part of her platform. So when she attended a women’s conference in February 2014 where they had an all-red fashion show to raise funds and awareness for heart disease, she knew she had to bring it to the Midlands.

“Last year, we learned a lot,” she said. “This year, we’re getting the word out more, and hopefully, we’ll have more ticket sales. I don’t want to be overly optimistic, but if we can net $5,000, I’d be happy with that.”

Last year’s debut show donated $3,500 to the American Heart Association. This year, 10 more models have confirmed, with notable names like Miss South Carolina USA 2013 Megan Pinckney, 2016 Miss Metropolitan Hali Larkins and Manning Mayor Julia Nelson, to name a few. Five Points boutiques Vestique, Petal and Revente along with Village of Sandhills’ Carolina Couture will provide looks for the show, as will the fundraiser’s national sponsor, Macy’s.

“We have professional models, and we also have a segment called City Kids, and some of the city’s employees’ children, or (children) affiliated with the city, will walk the runway,” Devine said. “We have a couple models that are heart disease survivors. We also have a celebrity portion of it, (with) local elected officials. So we’ve got some great professional and nonprofessional talent walking the runway.”

Saturday morning, March 12, many said models will step off the runway and onto the roadway for the Midlands Heart Walk, sponsored by the American Heart Association.

“The city has a team of walkers who’ll participate,” Devine said. “So that weekend, there will be two activities about heart disease. Hopefully with them being back-to-back, that brings more attention to heart disease so that people can continue to think about heart disease being an issue.”

THE VIBE: The convention center will be transformed into its own version of Lincoln Center, with additional information on heart disease, gym memberships and a few retail vendors at your fingertips in the lobby.

THE VERDICT: An all-red fashion show that raises money for heart disease is definitely a worthy cause: worthy of your time and money. Now all you need is the right outfit to go red in.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 5:11 PM.