Skip to content
The Lantern Gala 2026 · Saturday 14 November · Thornbury Hall Raised so far £30,025 Get tickets →
The Lantern Gala 2026
0 Tickets

Saturday 14 November 2026 / Thornbury Hall

One night. One target. A new respite suite.

The Lantern Gala 2026 is a black-tie evening of dinner, live entertainment and a full night of fundraising for The Lantern Foundation. Tickets, games, a raffle, a live pledge and both auctions, all from the phone in your pocket.

Get your tickets Make a pledge Add the event app

Why we are here

Every lantern on this wall is a family who gets to rest

Every year The Lantern Foundation supports families going through the hardest chapter of their lives with free respite care and children’s hospice services. This year the gala is raising £250,000 to build a new respite suite: a calm, private place where a whole family can sleep, eat and simply be together.

The money is not made on the night. It walks in through the door with you. The evening is designed so that every part of it, from the first game to the last pledge, gives you an easy way to give at the level you already had in mind.

Target
£250,000
Guests
400
Respite suite
1new
The lantern wallOne lantern lights for every £1,000 raised

0 of 250 lanterns lit so far. The rest are waiting for Saturday night.

The running order

How the evening unfolds

Seven moments, each with its own way to give. Nothing is sprung on you, and nothing is pushed: you choose where your generosity lands.

01

6:30pm

Drinks and Heads or Tails

A glass of something cold, a warm room and the first game of the night. Twenty pounds a go, one winner, and the whole room on its feet.

The games
02

7:30pm

Dinner, with the silent auction open

Three courses while you bid from your phone. Set a maximum and the system bids for you, so you never miss a lot for the sake of a dessert.

Browse the lots
03

8:45pm

The raffle draw

Tickets from five pounds, every prize announced live, and the winners paid out before the coffee arrives.

Buy raffle tickets
04

9:15pm

The live auction

Four headline lots sold from the stage. If you cannot be in the room, leave a pre-bid now and the auctioneer opens with it.

The live lots
05

9:45pm

The pledge

The moment the whole evening is built around. No lots, no winners, just the room choosing a tier and lighting the wall together. Gift Aid adds 25% to every gift.

The pledge tiers
06

10:15pm

The total on the wall

Silent auction closes, winners are charged automatically, and the number everyone came for goes up on the gala screen.

The night in numbers
07

Midnight

Carriages

Dancing until the lights come up, then home. Winners hear from us in the morning with exactly what happens next.

How it all works

Six ways to be part of it

Whatever you have in mind, there is a place for it

Some guests come for the lots, some for the pledge, some just for the dinner. Every one of them can help build the suite.

01

Tickets

Single seats, pairs and full tables of ten. Dinner, entertainment and the whole night of fundraising.

Book a seat 02

Games

Heads or Tails and the 50:50 draw keep the room buzzing between courses.

Join a game 03

Charity raffle

Tickets from £5, with every prize announced live on the night.

Buy tickets 04

The pledge

Five tiers, from Spark to Guiding Light, plus Pay What You Can. Gift Aid adds a quarter to every one.

Light a lantern 05

Silent auction

Bid from your phone on experiences, stays and signed pieces, all evening. We tell you the moment you are outbid.

Start bidding 06

Live auction

A handful of showstopper lots, sold live from the stage. Leave a pre-bid and it goes into the room with the auctioneer.

See the lots

Live auction

Four lots, sold from the stage

These go under the hammer at 9:15pm. A pre-bid placed here is carried into the room, so you can win before you have even found your table.

Every live lot

Silent auction

Open now, in your pocket

Browse, bid and get an alert the moment you are outbid. Bidding is open from today and closes at 10:15pm on the night.

Browse the full catalogue

The pledge

The moment that matters most

Ten lots in a room of four hundred means ten winners. The pledge is for everyone else. No lots, no bidding, no transaction: just a tier that feels right, chosen in the same three minutes by the whole room.

Because a pledge is a gift rather than a purchase, it carries Gift Aid. Every £100 you pledge reaches The Lantern Foundation as £125, at no cost to you.

Gift Aid, explained in a sentence

If you pay UK tax, the charity can reclaim 25p on every pound you give. We ask one question at checkout and handle the rest.

Try a figure£500
Reaches the charity
£625with Gift Aid
Lanterns lit
0.6of the wall
Pledge this amountor choose a tier
Guiding LightGuiding Light is our leadership tier, reserved for the handful of pledges that make the target genuinely achievable in one evening.£10,000£12,500 with Gift AidLantern BearerLantern Bearers carry the evening. A pledge at this level funds a meaningful share of the respite suite on its own.£5,000£6,250 with Gift AidBeaconA Beacon pledge stands out. At this level, your name is read from the stage and the room feels the impact directly.£2,500£3,125 with Gift AidFlameA Flame pledge is a serious statement of support — the kind of gift that gets the whole table talking and pushes the room to give more.£1,000£1,250 with Gift AidSparkA Spark pledge shows the room you're with us from the first minute. Every Spark adds real momentum to the total on the night.£500£625 with Gift AidPay what you canAny amount is a lantern litfrom £50Gift Aid applies

Tickets

Take your seat

Drinks reception from 6:30pm, three courses, live entertainment and the full fundraising programme. Book single places, a pair, or a whole table for your people.

Admit 214 Nov

Pair of Tickets

Two seats at The Lantern Gala 2026, seated together, including dinner, wine and the full evening.

£280for 2 guests

Sold out

Admit 1014 Nov

Table of Ten

A full table of ten at The Lantern Gala 2026 — ideal for a company, family group or group of friends.

£1,400for 10 guests

Sold out

VIP14 Nov

VIP Package

A single VIP seat at The Lantern Gala 2026, front-of-room with the auctioneer, a welcome glass of champagne on arrival, and a printed seating card reserved in your name.

Only 1 left

£350per guest

Book

Admit 114 Nov

Single Ticket

One seat at The Lantern Gala 2026, including a three-course dinner, wine and the full evening of entertainment, games and auctions.

39 of 60 sold

£150per guest

Book

Take the night with you

The whole evening, on your phone

This event has its own app. Add it to your home screen and you can bid, pledge, buy tickets and pay with one tap on the night. There is no app store and nothing to wait for: it installs straight from your browser in a few seconds.

  • Bid and pledge without hunting for a web address.
  • Pay in a tap with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
  • Get told the moment someone outbids you, and get back in front with one tap.
  • Watch the live total climb from your seat.
Add the event app How bidding works
Illustrative, not to scale

Where to find us

The evening takes place at Thornbury Hall

Thornbury HallA short walk from the station, with parking on site. Doors open at 7pm; arrive from 6:30pm for the drinks reception.
Date
Saturday 14 November 2026
Dress
Black tie
Drinks
From 6:30pm
Carriages
Midnight
Reserve your seats Plan your evening

For organisers

You are looking at a live demo of the Generosity Works platform

Everything on this site is real and working: the bidding, the pledge tiers, the ticketing, the app, the gala screen. The charity, the venue and the lots are invented so you can try all of it without spending a penny.

What it does How we compare The guide The night in numbers Behind the scenes Security and trust

Good to know

Questions people ask us

Do I need to be in the room to bid?
No. The silent auction is open now and runs on your phone wherever you are. For the live lots, leave a pre-bid and the auctioneer opens the room with it. If nobody beats it, the lot is yours.
How do I pay if I win?
You add a card when you place your first bid. If you win, that card is charged automatically when the auction closes, and your receipt arrives by email. Nobody chases you at your table.
What is Gift Aid and why does it matter here?
If you pay UK tax, the charity can reclaim 25p on every pound you give as a gift. Pledges and donations qualify; auction purchases generally do not, which is one reason the pledge sits at the heart of the evening.
Can I buy a whole table?
Yes. A table of ten seats your party together, and you can add guest names, dietary needs and access requirements after you book, from the link in your confirmation email.
Is this a real event?
No. The Lantern Gala, the Lantern Foundation, Thornbury Hall and every lot are invented so that charities can try the Generosity Works platform end to end. Payments run in Stripe test mode and no money changes hands.

Saturday 14 November 2026

Be there on the 14th

Tables are filling up. Reserve your seats now, or make a pledge if you cannot join us in person.

Get tickets Make a pledge