Spring Gala

View photos taken by Blue Sky’s Studio at the 2012 Gala (http://smaaspringgala2012.shutterfly.com/)

***Record Attendance & Outstanding Funds Raised Turn 17^th* *Annual Spring Gala into a Roaring Success.***

Thank you to all of the sponsors, underwriters and attendees for making St. Mary's 17th Annual Gala a huge success. The 420 guests at the Casablanca-themed event were greeted by belly dancers and directed to a Moroccan back-drop where they posed for photos provided by Blue Sky's Studio. The evening continued with a cocktail reception and live entertainment, silent & live auctions, dinner and dancing. Event sponsors were invited to a VIP Reception sponsored by First Republic Bank. As an alternative to dancing the night away, guests were invited to a Cigar Lounge hosted by Cigar Oasis.

The evening was a tremendous success on all fronts thanks to the direction of the Gala Committee Chairs, Emily Crume and Patty Frazier. Under their leadership, the Gala Committee far exceeded their overall fund raising goals, which will benefit the various programs at St. Mary's.

In addition to the silent and live auction portions of the evening, the St. Mary's community raised $103,000 specifically earmarked for furthering the growth and development of the St. Mary’s Fine and Performing Arts programs.

Gala Attendees had a chance to take part in two Opportunity Drawings. The lucky winner of the first drawing received an all inclusive trip to Barcelona, Spain for two, a value over $13,000. The second Opportunity Drawing was provided by Lugano Diamonds, which provided guests an opportunity to purchase jewelry boxes that may have contained various Lugano jewels and gift cards. In addition, each box purchased was entered to win the grand prize, a Lugano Diamond Line Necklace containing 144 Round Brilliant Collection SI Diamonds for a total of 3.68 carats set in white gold, a value of over $6,800.

The magical evening was filled with friendship and community, resulting in a gross total of $358,000, which will benefit all of the children and educational programs at St. Mary's.