Do you think this will go to her head?

News > Valley
‘Glitz & Glam’ show to aid Valley child

Thursday, November 6, 2008 5:53 AM EST
By Patricia Villers, Register Staff
SEYMOUR — The red carpet treatment. That’s what all who attend a fundraising hair fashion show this month at the Strand Theater can expect.Proceeds will benefit Mia Zito, 5, a Bungay School kindergartner who is undergoing treatment for advanced melanoma.Kellie Steeves, administrator and owner of the Oxford Academy of Hair Design in Seymour, said she, her staff and students are planning a “Glitz & Glam” benefit at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at the movie theater, 165 Bank St.She wants people to feel they are going to a special event. Photographer Val McCormick will be on hand to photograph the models and guests as they arrive on the red carpet in front of the theater.

The photos will be posted online, Steeves said, and proceeds from sales of the photos will be donated to the benefit.“I’ve never met Mia, but I wanted to do something to help someone in the community,” Steeves said. “People have really come together for this.”One of her hairdressing students, Samantha Allard, has created a 20-minute slide show that tells Mia’s story and describes hair fashions. It will be shown before the fashion show. Steeves said Carousel Gardens Restaurant of Seymour will donate catering services.Mia, whom Steeves called “the star of the show,” will model with other girls in the age 5-8 category.This is the third annual “Glitz & Glam” benefit that Steeves has organized. The first benefited the Children’s Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital, she said, and the second one was a benefit for Sydney Bartone of Derby, who died last November at age 7 after a battle with neuroblastoma.Mia’s mother, Christine Zito, said Mia “is doing fabulous” and is enjoying school.“It’s very kind and very generous” of Steeves to stage the show, she said.Louis Vayas will serve as DJ, and a special guest is expected, Steeves said.Donations of $20 are requested, but any amount will be welcomed.For information, call the Oxford Academy of Hair Design, 888-9075.Patricia Villers can be reached at pvillers@nhregister.com