St. George’s Day Dinner: Tickets on Sale Now!

It’s time to put on that fancy suit, laugh loud and dig deep for a good cause. The St. George’s Day Dinner is hitting the Beijing scene on April 28 at The Westin Beijing Chaoyang. This year, the proceeds will go towards Care for Children (an English charity dedicated to finding foster homes for orphaned children) as well as Little Flower (an independently funded hospice which offers long-term intensive care and medical treatment to sick and chronically ill Chinese children). We asked co-founder Martin Budzinski to clarify who exactly is St. George and why dinners are sometimes better than balls.

St. George: Is he fact or fiction?
He is the sober cousin of St. Patrick, a largely forgotten man, a Turk, who apparently slew a Dragon. We must be careful of that in the year of the Dragon. Now he is the patron saint of many countries and cities which somehow became associated with England. So we have a formal dinner with comedy whilst raising money for orphaned and sick children.

Why hold a dinner? How did this event come about?
In 2006, the founders of St. George’s Day Dinner had attended the Irish Ball, the British Ball, as well as the Caledonian Ball and the Welsh Ball, but found nothing for the English and the National Day! Why a dinner? We were “balled” out! Plus great food and great comedy is a winning combination.

What should we expect?
With six courses of fine fare and comedy, we are a unique and fun event with good value for money especially for the business community.

What can the dinner mean for non-Brits?
If anyone likes good food, wine and comedy, then come. Apart from displaying all of the English County flags, The British School Choir and Harrow School celebrating Shakespeare and the odd Gin and Tonic or Pimm’s, it’s a dinner with comedy. We have two international comedians, one of whom is Tim Clarke, back to host us with wit and humor. We also have the live auction throughout the entire evening. That being said, I am of Polish origin and I’m one of the founders of the event, so being English is not a strict requirement – having fun and digging deep for charity is!

What does St. George’s Day represent for Beijing?
It’s a celebration of all things English whose society patron is the Queen of England. Our aim is to be the premier business dinner in Beijing raising the most money for charity. We hope to raise anywhere from RMB 150,000 to 200,000.

Tickets start from RMB 938/person or RMB 8,888 for a table of 10. To buy tickets or enquire about sponsorship, go to The Westin Beijing Chaoyang or email saintgeorgebeijing@gmail.com.

Click here to see more photos from last year's dinner.