There are only 100 tickets left for Paint the Town Red on March 31, and less than a week is left to purchase them.

The annual event raises money for the work of the American Red Cross in the community, which includes disaster support like lodging, food, clothing and medical supplies, training in lifesaving skills like CPR, training in swimming, life-guarding and babysitting and providing emergency communications to members of the military and their families.

“We’re really excited about the event,” said Eve Robinson, development coordinator for the American Red Cross Coastal Virginia Region. “We’re so lucky to have such great Suffolk support.”

The event will feature a cocktail hour, dinner, entertainment and live and silent auctions.

Celebrity waiters including local media personalities and government officials will complete silly waiter challenges for the entertainment of the guests.

New this year, local restaurants and bakeries have offered up their most delectable baked goods for a dessert auction. The winners of the auction will be able to eat their desserts that night.

In the auctions, attractive items include an Orlando vacation package with two non-stop airline tickets from Newport News, an Emerald Isle, N.C., vacation package and an Outer Banks beach house with four bedrooms.

If you’re not ready for a vacation, other items include a Dooney and Bourke leather handbag, a hand-blown glass vase by glass-blowing artist Neil Duman, and a hand-quilted breast cancer quilt.

“We have some really great auction items,” Robinson said.

The event has lined up 18 new sponsors this year, she added.

Paint the Town Red will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Suffolk. Tickets must be purchased in advance. They are $50 each and can be purchased at BayPort Credit Union on Main Street or online at www.myredcross.net.

For more information, call 325-8923.