Tickets on sale for Leeds fundraiser
Leeds Center for the Arts is “Putting on the Glitz” in hopes of raising funds to continue its mission of promoting the arts in Winchester-Clark County.
Leeds Center for the Arts Executive Director Tracey Miller said this is the fifth year the nonprofit organization has hosted a fundraiser dinner event.
This year, the fundraiser will be a night of dinner, dancing and entertainment.
Putting on the Glitz is set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Winchester Opera House, 10 E. Lexington Ave. Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $50 per person, which includes a full-course dinner, live show and cash bar.
Tickets are going quickly, Miller said, and can be purchased at leedscenter.org.
“There are a very limited number left,” Miller said. “We opened sales about two weeks ago and we’ve already sold more than 100 tickets.”
There will also be a live and silent auction.
Miller said the annual fundraising dinner started with a murder-mystery dinner.
“We had the idea to have a murder-mystery dinner,” Miller said. “It was at that time the theater was really struggling. The roof was leaking. The building was in disrepair. And we had about $400 in the bank.”
The board at Leeds went to Vanessa Ziembroski at the Winchester Opera House with the idea of hosting the dinner there.
“She realized the value of Leeds and the value of the arts in the community,” Miller said. “She was on board, and it was so wonderful.”
This year, the event has been changed a bit, Miller said.
“Rather than a murder-mystery dinner, we’re doing a night of singing and dancing,” she said. “We have a cast of about 20 — ranging in age from about 10 to 31 — who will be performing a variety of songs from popular shows.”
All proceeds from the event will go to Leeds Center for Arts, and past events have raised about $10,000 annually, Miller said.
“The money we raise will be used for our productions,” she said. “Some of it goes to operating costs, which is always in the forefront of our minds because we operate on donations and the generosity of the community. It will go toward our education programs. We have scholarship funds for our theater camps. It will be used for a variety of things. We always make sure we are good stewards of the money.”
While the event promises to be a good time, she encourages people to come primarily to support the young people in the community.
“If you come for nothing else, come for Brett Cheuvront, who is our auctioneer,” she said. “It’s a fun night to get together and celebrate all the people who came before us to make the theater come to life.
“Come to celebrate the arts in Winchester and the region.
“Come to celebrate the children. There’s an astounding amount of young talent in Clark County and we want to be there to help them believe they can follow their heart and pursue theater. We want to educate them and provide an outlet. We want to help them believe in themselves and boost their confidence while being on stage.”
For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit leedscenter.org.