Marin Magazine - April 2009

At the San Francisco Ballet’s opening night Russian Treasures themed gala, guests attended one of the four black-tie fundraising dinners and a performance of ten classical and contemporary works.

The 13th annual Marin Valentine’s Ball, which raised over $220,000 for the North Bay Children’s Center, Sunny Hills Services, The Godmothers of Timothy Murphy School and Whistlestop, was a black tie extravaganza co-chaired by Susan Gilmore and Nannette Griswold.

The Mill Valley Community Center played host to WildCare’s annual gala, which raised funds for a full range of programs in wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education, as well as the Wildlife Solutions and Living with Wildlife Hotline.

At the Next Key Center in Novato, Homeward Bound of Marin held the West Coast Inaugural Ball, which included catering by Fresh Starts Catering, a social enterprise venture of Homeward Bound, and live music, as well as a life-size stand-up photo of the honoree, President Barack Obama, for some fun photos. Proceeds from the evening benefited Homeward Bound’s programs for homeless adults and families.

Over 420 attendees danced and dined at the Marin Civic Center exhibit hall, which was magically transformed by Hartmann Studios to A Night in Old Shanghai. At Marin Charitable Association’s annual awards ceremony, 48 agencies supporting youth-at-risk were the recipients of various awards totaling $150,000.

The Opera Celebration benefit at the Osher Marin JCC was a success with over 175 people present. The afternoon raised proceeds to support the Jewish Community Center’s music programs.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition parted with tradition last year and replaced the Big Bike Bash with the Bikers Ball to celebrate the group’s ten-year anniversary. Two hundred guests helped MCBC celebrate at Servino Ristorante in Tiburon and the dance band Vinyl kept the crowd moving.

Over 250 community leaders and families gathered to celebrate 60 years of service by the Blind Babies Foundation. The evening, emceed by Marinite Cheryl Jennings, was filled with laughter, delicious food, inspiring speeches and concluded with dancing and music by the California School for the Blind Jazz Ensemble.