Brides to help cancer patients

MOSES LAKE — Brides-to-be can make wishes come true for terminal breast cancer patients Feb. 24 at the 2007 Greater Moses Lake Area's Ninth Annual Bridal Show in Moses Lake.

The show is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Big Bend Community College's ATEC building. It is sponsored by the Columbia Basin Herald.

More than 500 bridal gowns sized two through 24 are for sale at the show through Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation's fund-raising event Brides Against Breast Cancer. The gowns are toured nationwide. Proceeds from the sale go toward granting wishes for terminal breast cancer patients.

"The gowns are some of the most beautiful ones I've ever seen on this tour," said Brenda Chovanak, director of the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation antique gown division.

The gowns are priced 25 to 75 percent below retail price, with a recommended budget of $299 to $599. Most of the gowns available this year are donated by businesses, with a few higher-end gowns from brides.

Chovanak said this is the organization's first time hosting a show in Moses Lake.

More than 32 Brides Against Breast Cancer events are hosted each year during the tour. She anticipated brides coming from Spokane, Tri-Cities and the Seattle area to purchase gowns.

Common requests for breast cancer patients are family vacations to Disney Land and Disney World, Chovanak said. The average wish costs $4,000 to $6,000 to fulfill.

In October, the tour's trailer was stolen, along with a collection of bridal gowns worth more than $3 million. Designers, manufacturers and bridal shops pitched in to donate new gowns in time for this year's tour. Wal-Mart donated $20,000 for a new trailer.

To pre-register for the Brides Against Breast Cancer event, visit www.makingmemories.org.