Baldwin County Child Advocacy Gala Set for Nov. 7 in Orange Beach

CARE House, the Baldwin County Child Advocacy Center, will hold its 4th Annual Fall Ball – Starlit Soiree, a $125 black-tie gala with music, food and a silent auction, Nov. 7 at The Port at Zeke’s Landing in Orange Beach.

By James Bullard

October 28, 2026 · 9:39 am Updated October 30, 2026 4 min read

Tables set for a formal evening fundraising gala.

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Supporters of the Baldwin County Child Advocacy Center will put on their formal best Saturday, Nov. 7, for the 4th Annual CARE House Fall Ball, a black-tie fundraiser organizers have themed “Starlit Soiree.” The Baldwin County Child Advocacy Gala runs from 6 to 10 p.m. at The Port at Zeke’s Landing, 26619 Perdido Beach Blvd., in Orange Beach.

Tickets cost $125 per person. According to organizers, the evening will feature music, food and a silent auction, with the money raised supporting CARE House and the services it provides to children in crisis across Baldwin County.

What guests can expect

The Fall Ball is billed as a formal affair, and the black-tie designation sets the dress code. Black tie traditionally calls for tuxedos or dark formal suits for men and evening gowns or comparably formal attire for women, so those planning to attend may want to make wardrobe arrangements well ahead of the date.

Organizers have outlined three main elements of the evening:

Music to set a festive tone for the night
Food, which organizers promise will be fantastic
A silent auction, giving guests a chance to bid on items while contributing to the cause

Silent auctions are a fixture of nonprofit galas. Items are usually displayed with bid sheets or listed through an electronic bidding system, and guests place bids over the course of the evening until bidding closes. The highest bidder on each item takes it home, and the proceeds go to the host organization.

This year’s gathering marks the fourth time the advocacy center has held the Fall Ball, making it a relatively young but established event on the county’s fall fundraising calendar.

Why CARE House matters

CARE House is the Baldwin County Child Advocacy Center. According to event organizers, support for the center helps bring safety, healing and justice to the children who need it most and allows it to keep providing life-changing services to local children in crisis.

Child advocacy centers across the United States generally follow a model built around a multidisciplinary team. When a child may have been abused, professionals from law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, medicine, mental health and victim advocacy coordinate their work through the center rather than handling the case separately. A central part of that approach is the forensic interview, a structured conversation led by a specially trained interviewer in a child-friendly setting. The goal is to gather the information investigators need while sparing a child from repeating a painful account to one agency after another.

Centers that follow this model also commonly connect children and their non-offending family members with counseling, medical referrals and advocates who help families navigate the investigative and court process. Because such services are often offered at no cost to families, fundraising events like galas frequently play a meaningful role in keeping programs running.

For Baldwin County residents, that means an evening out in Orange Beach doubles as a way to help a local organization that works with some of the county’s most vulnerable children.

Sponsorship opportunities

Organizers said various levels of sponsorship are available for businesses, organizations and individuals who want to support the gala beyond buying a ticket. Benefits at nonprofit events typically scale with the level of support, but anyone interested should contact CARE House directly to learn what each level includes for this year’s Fall Ball.

For the host organization, sponsorships provide a dependable base of support before the doors even open, which can help ensure that ticket sales and auction proceeds go further toward its programs.

Event at a glance

What: 4th Annual Baldwin County Child Advocacy Center CARE House Fall Ball – Starlit Soiree
When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 6 to 10 p.m.
Where: The Port at Zeke’s Landing, 26619 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach
Dress: Black-tie formal
Tickets: $125
Features: Music, food and a silent auction
Sponsorships: Multiple levels available

Planning your evening

Perdido Beach Boulevard is the main east-west route through Orange Beach, and the venue sits along that corridor. Guests coming from elsewhere in Baldwin County or from the Mobile area may want to allow extra travel time on a Saturday evening, particularly if they hope to arrive when doors open at 6 p.m.

Daylight saving time ends Nov. 1, the Sunday before the gala, so the sun will set early and most guests will arrive after dark. Those planning to stay through the 10 p.m. finish may want to line up a ride or a designated driver in advance.

Nov. 7 is also shaping up as a busy Saturday for community events across South Baldwin, so residents juggling several plans may want to secure tickets early.

For organizers, the night is about more than formal dining and a chance to bid on auction items. The money raised, they said, helps CARE House keep delivering safety, healing and justice to local children who need it most.