Bermudians looking for a classy New Years Eve will be able to eat, drink and be merry at a special event planned at the Fairmont Southampton that will help to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Kevin Bean of KDB Entertainment, in conjunction with the Fairmont Southampton has organised ?An Evening of Elegance?. Part of the proceeds will go to the family of American Idol finalist George Huff, who was in Bermuda last spring.

Mr. Huff will perform at ?An Evening of Elegance? the special New Year?s evening, along with the Jimmy Vali & Uptown Mix band, and local performers Khalilah Smith and the band Silhouette.

?George came fifth in the American Idol contest,? said Mr. Bean. ?He was one of the finalists, but he was more memorable because of his personality. There are great singers and there are great stage personalities, but not everyone has the ?it? factor ? the ability to grab the audience immediately.

?George has that. He also has a very rich voice. When he came to Bermuda to do a show for us back in May, he had a standing ovation in his first song.?

Mr. Bean said Mr. Huff went out of his way to perform in Bermuda, and also to help Bermuda kids in the ?Dancing for Success? programme.

?Now it is time to help him,? Mr. Bean said. ?When I spoke to him to find out how he was making out with Hurricane Katrina I learned he and his family lost everything, literally. It was a month before his album was due out, which is a big deal. They relocated to Dallas, Texas. He said he wasn?t doing much at the moment, so I said come on down to Bermuda. He wanted to know what was going on for New Years and I said that was perfect. His mother and family were all living in New Orleans where he grew up.?

Mr. Bean said giving Mr. Huff and his family part of the proceeds from ?An Evening of Elegance? was a way of repaying him for his kindness to Bermuda.

?He went right out of his way for us in May,? said Mr. Bean. ?He did a great job.?

Mr. Bean said people would also enjoy other performers such as Jimmy Vali & The Uptown Mix.

?That is a ten piece band,? he said. ?They can go from a three piece all the way up to a fifty piece if necessary. It is an excellent show band. They have been here many times before for conventions. Fortune 500 companies have brought them down on many occasions. I thought that they are so great that Bermuda deserves to see this and experience it. They do everything from swing music to modern day. That is what makes them so powerful.?

Apparently, Jimmy Vali & The Uptown Mix were voted among the top 100 bands in the entire United States.

?You have thousands of bands in New York City alone, so to be voted in the top 100 in the entire country really says a lot,? said Mr. Bean. ?Locally, we have Khalilah Smith and Silhouette which is a four member harmony group. She sings a little bit of everything. She is a really good singer. We also have Lizz Pimentel?s dance company, In Motion. All the singers are being backed by James Richardson and his crew.?

Tickets to the evening will be $175 and can be purchased at Shannon?s Boutique and at the Fairmont Southampton from the concierge.

?People are advised to get their tickets early, because it is New Years, and things sell out fast,? said Mr. Bean. ?This is a very special evening, because we are catering to the mature. It is definitely black tie.

?This year?s slogan will be ?for the classy, the elegant and mature?. We are trying to hit that market who want to dress up and don?t want to worry about a whole mess going on around them. And what a better place to have it then the Fairmont Southampton??

At mid-night the countdown will be led by Jimmy Vali and George Huff. It will be a grand evening that will be difficult to forget.

Cocktails begin at 8 and dinner is at 9 p.m. It is definitely black tie.

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