Global Links, which sends surplus medical supplies from the U.S. to facilities in poor countries, is reprising the theme of last year’s fundraiser in hopes of an even bigger party.
Like all Day of the Dead celebrations, this one should cheer the living, with food, cocktails, live performances and more.

The party, at Global Links’ warehouse headquarters, in Carnegie, runs 8-11 p.m. It features Latin American street food (from Edgar’s Tacos, La Palapa and more); beer and wine; visual art; a performance by dance troupe Attack Theatre; and dancing to the tunes of DJ Wayne Smith. A new wrinkle is haunted pinball machines form the Pennsylvania Coin Operated Hall of Fame & Museum.

Because Dia de los Muertos is sort of the Latino Halloween, guests often come costumed, or at least sporting the traditional Dia de los Muertos colors of orange, yellow, purple, pink or red. If you want to be a skull, Global Links will have face-painters. You can even get your fortune read.

A VIP party ($125) that starts at 6:30 p.m. includes a private dinner by local celebrity chef Bill Fuller, of Big Burrito; signature cocktails; and a live performance by the Mariachi Fiesta Band.

The party’s theme is especially apt because Global Links works mostly in the Western Hemisphere, and often with Latino countries. Countries it has served include Bolivia, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua.

The group, founded in 1989, ships everything from used hospital beds to still-packaged sutures that U.S. hospitals would have otherwise disposed of, simultaneously serving humanitarian and environmental missions. Its motto is “We work toward a day when no one will die for lack of what others throw away.”

Here’s a 2008 CP feature story on Global Links.

For tickets, or more info, see here or call 412-361-3424, x203.