As the twilight gathered on Sunday evening, November 1, the exterior of Teatro ZinZanni was aglow in the spangled, twinkling glitter ball light while the sounds of the Hans Teuber combo filled the air. Patrons stepped off the red carpet and inside to our lavishly appointed lobby/boutique to be greeted with warmth, music and laughter and a glass of wine care of our generous wine sponsor, Vinum Cellars.
Our first ever ZinZanniversary benefit gala celebration was well underway. Over 250 of our closest friends, board members, staffers and performers were on hand to help us raise money for the ZinZanni Institute for Circus Arts. Throughout the night different opportunities were presented as ways to support our education program. We held a silent auction in the lobby and during the entree our emcee extraordinaire, El Vez conducted a raise-the-paddle moment – but not before he did a little fun-raising of his own (those of you who were there know exactly what we mean by that!).
Original cast members Ann Wilson and Dolorèze Léonard joined the cast of Beaumount & Caswell (which co-stars original cast member Kevin Kent) to give the evening an extra special sizzle. Watching Ann Wilson sing in the tent was simply amazing – the girl has some pipes!
All told we raised $75,000 – not bad for our first ever fund raiser event. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined us that evening. Thanks too to photographers Michael Doucett, Abara and Jonathan for the lovely photographs.
