HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The American Cancer Society's Fifth Annual Evening of Elegance will be held Saturday, May 2nd beginning at 6:00 pm at the Calvin House in Duncansville. This year's theme is Classic Hollywood: The Star is You. The evening will include a cocktail reception with elegant hors d'oeuvres, a gourmet dinner and dessert, and dancing to the music of Prelude, the award-winning Washington D.C. band led by Altoona native Dave Detwiler.
Event Chairpersons Judy Halbritter and Shirley Pechter lead the event's volunteer committee which includes: Jan Andrews, Tony DeGol, Betsy Harman-Garach, Steve Helsel, Gail Irwin, Mary Ellen Jones, David Kimmel, Lisa Michelone, Susan Nycum, Rozzie Sky, Ellie Spangler, Marti Winn and N. Susan Woodring.
"We are very excited about this year's Evening of Elegance," says Chairperson Judy Halbritter. "We have some wonderful entertainment planned for the evening including a spectacular silent auction. The Classic Hollywood theme will be fun for all age groups and provides lots of ideas for local artists who will again be creating artwork for our auction. The artists in our community have been very generous in the past and have designed some truly beautiful works for us. These gifts have always been a highlight of our event," says Halbritter.
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Courtesy photo
The theme for this year's American Cancer Society Evening of Elegance is Classic Hollywood: The Star is You. Here, the event committee posed before this well-known Hollywood scene. Pictured front row from left are: Shirley Pechter, Co-chair; Rozzie Sky; Judy Halbritter, Co-chair; and Jan Andrews. In row 2 from left are: Marti Winn; Betsy Harman-Garach; and Gail Irwin. In row 3 from left are: David Kimmel, Lisa Michelone and Tony DeGol. Missing are committee members Steve Helsel, Mary Ellen Jones, Susan Nycum, Ellie Spangler, and Susan Woodring. The Evening of Elegance will be held Saturday, May 2nd beginning at 6:00 pm at the Calvin House. Tickets are $125 per person. Please call the American Cancer Society at 1.888.227.5445, option 3 for more information. All money raised is used for local patient services, education programs and cancer research.
A silent auction with unique items and events is also planned, adds Halbritter.
Items include packages with various movie titles. For example, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" will include behind-the scenes tour of Kranich's Jewelry Store with a breakfast from Rebar for up to 20 people; "My Left Foot" featuring a one-hour reflexology treatment at Little Rock Herbs, McKee; and "Big" featuring a party with up to 40 people viewing a major sporting event at Park Audio & Video; and many others.
Three-dimensional wooden stars created by local artists, including Joe Servello, John Rita and Michael Allison and others, also will be part of the silent auction.
The committee is thrilled to have Prelude returning for another encore performance. Prelude is highly regarded as being one of the best variety bands in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and is regularly engaged to provide entertainment for White House parties and events. David Detwiler is director of the band. His father was Ray Detwiler, AASD band director for many years. He died in 2008.
"We are thrilled to have Prelude returning. The music and dancing are one of the reasons many people come back to this event each year," says Halbritter.
"This event is an opportunity to celebrate survivorship and the progress we have made in the battle for cancer cure," says Chairperson Shirley Pechter. "We are grateful to everyone who attends and all of the businesses and individuals who support this event for such a worthwhile cause. With the request of patient services increasing 56 per cent from this time last year, now is an imperative time for people to give. Facing cancer is hard, but finding help should not be."
Tickets are $125 per person. Last year's event raised more than $50,000 to help fund local cancer patient services, education programs, and cancer research. For more information call the American Cancer Society at 1.888.227.5445, option 3.
The American Cancer Society is a national community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.
