Elmhurst Centre for Performing Arts to host 'Spotlight Gala' Nov. 14
The Elmhurst Centre for Performing Arts' "Spotlight Gala" will bring an evening full of nationally recognized talent to your home on Saturday, Nov. 14.
"Creating a virtual gala has been a huge positive for ECPA. As an arts organization, we've been able to book amazing talent nationally that wouldn't be possible if our event was being held live," stated board member Laura Michaud. "We are looking forward to an exceptional evening."
Cathy Richardson, lead singer of Jefferson Starship and an Elmhurst resident, will offer her support for the performing arts center with a heartfelt and rocking performance off her latest album, "Mother of the Sun." Growing up in Burr Ridge and attending Hinsdale Central High School, Richardson has many ties to the area.
Also showing support for performing arts center will be Dan Konopka, Elmhurst native and York High School graduate. He is an original member of the group OK GO!, a band considered to be a pioneer in video-making, with their recordings tallying over 100 million views on YouTube.
This new environment also has its challenges.
"Human connection through the arts is desperately needed right now; the need to connect, to work through the feelings of loss," says Rebecca Marianetti, York High School theater and choir director and ECPA board member. "I have been teaching for 25 years and cannot think of a time that I have felt as uncertain and, frankly, as lost as I do now. But then I hear my students sing and I smile for what was and what is to come.
"We have to work through this together. We have to lift each other as a community and celebrate what is good, while we continue to challenge ourselves," Marianetti said. "The arts make us all process what we want the world to be. ECPA aims to be part of the challenge and part of the solution as we embrace and celebrate the arts and the beauty of what it means to be human."
The Elmhurst Centre for Performing Arts is honored to premiere a special performance by members of the York High School Cadet and Concert Choirs at this year's gala. The piece will speak to the current state of the world with an important and global message of togetherness.
The gala benefits the nonprofit 501(c)3 which is dedicated to the creation of a state-of-the-art venue for theater, dance, music and comedy in Elmhurst City Centre.
Proceeds from the gala will benefit the initiative.
The Virtual Spotlight Gala will be 7 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. A limited number of "Experience Boxes for Two" are $175 with additional options available through Thursday, Nov. 5.
The live auction features: Kilwins Elmhurst Fudge Experience and the Escape Room Elmhurst, starting bid $200, value, $300; Tannins Wine Bar & Boutique, starting bid, $300, value, $550; York Furrier two-in-one coat, starting bid $1,700, value $3,000; and a week at a condo at Steamboat Springs Mountain, starting bid $900, value, $4,000.
Also available are raffle tickets to win your favorite items. Tickets are $25 or five for $100. You need not be present online to win.
Raffle offerings include: one quart of ice cream each month for a year from Kilwins Elmhurst, value: $196; family membership to the Museum of Science and Industry with
exclusive access, parking, discounts and experiences for a year with your new membership, value: $195; "Coffee for a Year at Pilot Pete's Coffee & Treats" includes a customized mug, valid weekdays, value: $1,230; Elmhurst Brewing Co.'s "Two Mug Club" memberships plus two tickets to the gourmet dinner and beer pairing event, good for one year, value: $300; three-hour dance party package with DJ Uj, value: $400; and JEM Medspa microneedling treatment, by Feb. 14, value: $350.
Visit www.ECPA-Elmhurst.org/Gala2020 for more information.