Idaho Dance Theater Brings Powerful Performances for Fundraiser

If you have ever thought of dance as only a rather delicate way to move, you really need to check out Idaho Dance Theater (among other dance organizations in town). Artistic Directors Marla and Fred Hansen and Carl Rowe create athletic and robust dances that challenge your perception of movement and increase your awareness of the world.

A unique aspect of the IDT performances is the improvisation that arrives at the end of the show. This is freeing for the artist and electrifying for the audience, and takes you to a different place as an audience member. Even if you are not a dance aficionado, you can appreciate how the dancers are given freedom, as any of us may yearn to have in our own places of work.

The IDT has been provided with a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts for $10,000 for a tour of Northern Idaho under the category “Access to Artistic Excellence”, from McCall to Sandpoint and many cities in between. 

In order to receive the grant, they must raise an additional $10,000. At their fundraiser on Saturday, April 19, you can help bring more arts throughout Idaho!

Their final show of the season begins at 8:00 p.m. at the Boise State University Special Events Center. You can support them at the silent auction and reception at the BSU Student Union’s Lookout Room starting at 5:30 p.m. for $15 per individual and $25 per couple. Visit www.idahodancetheater.org or call 331-9592 with any questions.

Having a Blast at the Prom

We dressed, we dined, we danced. What fun it was on Saturday night to join Faith in Action at their annual fundraiser, “The Prom.”

We knew when we walked into the Big Easy and saw the 16-piece big band The Kings of Swing set up on the stage that we were in for a treat. This was not your daughter’s prom! Attendees were on the floor dancing up a storm and we Divas were only too pleased to join in.

We enjoyed talking to many of the board members including Dawneen Blakeslee, Sue Saldin, and Charlie Sety and finding out about the excellent work they are doing on behalf of the “senior class” -- senior citizens and families dealing with ailments such as Alzheimer’s.

Speaking of class, this event was all class -- from the décor to the music to the dancing to the attendees. Tables were decorated with red feather boas, red roses, and chocolate. A silent auction and raffle added to the fun of the evening.

We would also like to commend Faith in Action for lining up partnerships with a variety of restaurants such as 8th Street Wine Co., Angell’s Bar & Grill, Barbacoa, Chef Lou’s at 8th Street, and The Melting Pot.

It was an excellent way to help drive people to supporting businesses and encouraging the businesses to offer a special treat such as a complimentary dessert with dinner.

Really, event organizers left no detail unturned. At the end of the evening, they even had Ziploc bags so that attendees could take the flower centerpieces home. Way to give people a nice parting gift without having to repurchase the vases next year! We loved it -- what a great idea!

Everyone in our party agreed that this was one of the most fun events we have ever attended. We’re even looking into taking some dance lessons to prepare for next year’s event. Way to go, Faith in Action!  Kudos to you for putting together such a great event and for all you do for the senior citizens in the area.

In other news, we heard that Ballet Idaho’s Artful Living event was a big success. They plan on adding more tables next year since they sold out this year. It was a great way to build up excitement for new Artistic Director Peter Anastos upcoming move to Boise and for their new theme of “Creating Classics Everyday.”

St. Baldricks Celebration - Let the Hair Fly!

On Saturday, March 15th, the 4th annual St. Baldrick's Celebration was held at Tablerock Brewpub and Grill. The energy was palpable, the tears flowing and the hair flying as people gathered to raise money and awareness for those with childhood cancer by shaving their heads. It was quite a sight to behold and a special day for all who attended.

Prior to the event, over 35 people had signed up and gathered pledges. By the end of the four-hour event, a total of 61 heads were shaved. Shavees were brought up, 3 at a time, to get their heads shorn. The audience was moved and supportive, cheering on both men and women as they shed their hair. The shaving itself was quick and shocking, especially the first strip down the center of the head. But as they emerged from the protection and mask of their hair, their faces were glowing with a beauty that was transformational.

Shasta Luper was one “Shavee”. Her daughter McKynna was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two. Soon after her hair grew back after her treatments, McKynna attended last year's St. Baldrick's event. Here are the words from the event organizer, Tammie Eslinger, "...about half way through our 2007 event, a little lady named McKynna climbed up on my lap to have her head shaved. I know that doesn't sound too life-changing, but there is more. McKynna is one of my patients. She is a four year old with leukemia whose hair had just grown back. When she saw everyone else shaving for kids with cancer, she asked if she could do it too. So there she sat, holding her little hand straight out so to the ladybug that my mom had just painted on it wouldn't get messed up, not even flinching as Wes so gently shaved her golden locks. And there I sat, trying not to let anyone see my tears, not nearly as brave as McKynna. I realized how very blessed I am to be a part of something so amazing, to be surrounded by children and families who possess a strength that I could only dream of."

McKynna's mother, Shasta, decided that if her daughter could shave her hair, that she, Shasta, would do it this year. Then, Caleigh, the daughter of one of Shasta's coworkers, decided that she too should shave her head to help raise money and awareness. Caleigh is 10 years old and quite a lady with a good head on her shoulders (and a certifiable lovely one as well!) When asked by her grandmother if she wanted to go shopping for some cute hats to wear post-shave, Cal responded, "I'm doing this to raise awareness, how can I do that by wearing a hat?" and then "But I will take a new outfit!"

You can see before and after pictures of Shasta and Caleigh, read their own words and, most importantly, contribute to their efforts at:
Shasta
Caleigh

The silent auction and raffle rounded out the heart-warming and head-baring day. To date, the event has raised over $32,000 to support research for childhood cancer, and that number continues to grow. Look for those brave people with bare heads, glowing faces, and pins saying “Ask Me Why I’m Bald” – they are heroes for their expression of solidarity and their efforts to raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer.

Again, from event organizer, Tammie Eslinger:

Childhood cancer continues to hold first place among diseases that kill children. Two classrooms of children will be diagnosed with cancer each day. That's a lot of broken hearts. Many of those children will go into remission and live long, healthy lives, but so many will not.

Great strides have been made in the battle against childhood cancer. Overall, about 75% of children diagnosed with cancer will survive, which is great unless your child falls into the remaining 25%. Research can change that. In 1946 when the first treatment for leukemia was discovered, almost every child who was diagnosed would die within a year. Today, as we see in McKynna and so many other St. Baldrick's children, they not only live more than a year, they grow into wonderful adults. Only through the perseverance of those early researchers are we able to witness that success.

Please help support research for childhood cancer in whatever way you feel is appropriate, whether it is through a donation of your time, your money, or your hair. And don't stop there, please spread the word, get everyone you know involved in this mission to end childhood cancer. It seems daunting, but together we can make a difference!

Inspiration Abounds at St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Holy cow! If you were not at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, benefiting the Idaho Epilepsy Foundation, you missed one of the most inspirational nights so far this year. 

The crowd there was absolutely amazing and fun.  Some were there because their lives have been or are touched by epilepsy, some were there because they're huge mountain climbing fans and wanted to hear from Greg Mortenson and Jim Wickwire, but all were there because they have huge hearts and wanted to join in glow of the evening.

If you want a night where you can bring out that stunning gown or dress you never get to wear, make sure to put this event on your calendar for next year.  Glitz and sparkle abounded (including a gorgeous blue gown worn by Karen Havey, Chair of the Idaho Epilepsy Foundation Board of Directors), and everyone just seemed to shine.

Almost every auction has one very special item to offer, and the Massacre was no exception - in fact, they had at least 3 very special items!  In honor of Mr. Mortenson's work building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Ten Thousand Villages donated a breathtaking hand-made rug that I believe had 400 stitches per inch. 400.  The patterns and colors in this rug were just astonishing, making it a just work of art. It went for the highest amount that night, spurred on by the great words of a local junior in high school who is a refugee from Afghanistan and was able to talk about the rug and what Mr. Mortenson's work has meant for his former home. 

If you are a guitar fan, they had a duo of fun treats - two hand-painted Gibson Les Paul Junior guitars!  Dr. Robert Wechsler provided the fun background of these and helped get the bidding started.  Actor Greg Grunberg from NBC's "Heroes" has become a spokesman for those living with epilepsy, including his son, Jake.  To help the cause, Mr. Grunberg asked some of his friends to use a Gibson Les Paul Junior as a canvas, and they created some beautiful instruments. Two of these masterpieces were auctioned off, raising much needed funds for the Idaho Epilepsy Foundation.

So we've mentioned inspiration in this post, and you might be wondering where it was.  It was all around the room - from those who live with epilepsy every day and educate others about the condition, to those who fight to make sure medications are available to all of our friends and neighbors with epilepsy, to the neurologists who provide loving care to their patients, and to the keynote speaker, Greg Mortenson, whose sister passed away due to complications of epilepsy, and who has devoted his life to promoting peace and education.

You may be familiar with the bestselling book, Three Cups of Tea, which chronicles Mr. Mortenson's journey in building nearly 70 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and funding over 30 more. If you have time to read only one book this year, this surely must be it.  From it, you can learn a huge amount about geopolitics and the cultures of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but more than that, what is made clear is that no matter what our perceived differences, all of us want peace and a better life for our children.

More so, you learn of the difference you can make in the world. Perhaps it won't be quite as overwhelming a task as creating 60 schools in some of the most desolate parts of the globe, but whatever you can contribute creates a huge, lasting effect that makes our entire community an even better place to live.

Keep the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in mind for great events you can attend for next year!

Festival of Trees: An Insider's View

I recently had a unique opportunity of being involved with the planning of the St. Alphonsus Festival of Trees event as well as being able to attend the Gala as a guest.  Sondra Juetten who, along with her husband, George, served as the Festival Chair this year, pegged me as her right-hand person/Girl Friday/Assistant to the Chair.  Since that is quite a mouthful, we created the new title of "Ottoman" to describe my role (get it: she's the chair, I stay near her and help take a load off..)  As the official 2007 Ottoman, I got to see the behind-the-scenes workings of what is required to put on the lavish Festival of Trees week-long event.  It was an impressive production to view.

The Festival of Trees is in its 24th year so, needless to say, they have this event down.  There is an army of volunteers who arrive to set up the decor, decorate the trees, set the tables, etc.  The sheer magnitude of it is impressive and a bit daunting.  The Gala on Tuesday night has over 1000 attendees.  Imagine what is required to set 1000 place settings (thank you, excellent Center on the Grove staff), put on 1000 chair covers and bows, wash 1000 red goblets (don't ask!), decorate 100 tables, etc.  That's for one night.  Then they break all that down and the ballroom continues to be used throughout the week for all the other events such as Breakfast with Santa, etc.   One week later we were back decorating the room again for another 900 attendees for the Fashion Show.  Again, the volume of it was astounding.  When the First Lady and Fashion Show Model, Lori Otter, is helping tie bandannas on chair backs, you know you're pulling everyone in to help out!

The Gala itself was lovely.  The trees were stunning and the room was gorgeous.  I felt quite a surge of pride when seeing all those decorated chair backs and clean goblets (combined with a slight sense of nausea and dread of ever seeing another dish rack again!)  It is the dressiest event of the season and attendees pulled out all the stops.  The live auction of trees is the highlight of the evening, as well as just the sheer grandeur of the evening.  I think that every fund raising event is being affected by the slow-down in the economy, and I dare to say that the Festival of Trees was not immune to that influence.  However, I believe they still met their goal and raised an impressive amount of money for their Center for Advanced Healing.

One of the most impressive and critical elements in being able to pull of a series of events of this size seemed to me to be the way that they organized their dedicated volunteers into a variety of empowered committees.  Each committee knew exactly what they needed to do and were able to do their part relatively autonomously.  The Festival organizers were, well, organized, and were very capable of overseeing these committees, in addition to rolling up their sleeves to help out when needed.   I'm sure that a huge part of this on all parts is gained by sheer repetition after so many years.  But it was interesting to see the structure they have and the way that the committee heads took their parts and ran with them, while reporting back periodically to the Executive Committee.   Having helped with events that typically do not have that kind of infrastructure, it was quite a new experience for me.  It seemed like a good model to at least work towards, even for smaller events and organizations.  I realize that some organizations often don't have the human resources to even form more than one committee, but it still was a good reminder of the importance of setting up a solid infrastructure in advance, even if on a smaller scale.

I was glad to have the chance to be nearby and witness a production such as the St. Alphonsus Festival of Trees.  It is obviously a labor of love for thousands of members of our community -- set up crews, seamstresses, tree decorators, performers, fashion show merchants, sponsors, event volunteers, clean up crew, etc.  From start to finish, this is a first-class operation.  This Diva tips her hat to you all!

Not Your Mother's Gingerbread House

All I can say about the gingerbread houses that were submitted as part of the Gingerbread Holiday Village Benefit and Gala for the Family Advocate Program is "holy cow!"  So many of these entries completely blew away any traditional notion of what a gingerbread house is.  The event took place on November 16 at the Boise Centre on the Grove, and seriously - if you did not go down to see these houses, you missed an amazing display of skill and creativity.

There was a fabulous hair salon made of gingerbread, that even had little people inside it sitting at the styling stations, and the sweetest barn you've ever seen that was lit up and just looked so peaceful, you wanted to sit around and just wait for the farmer to show up. Major kudos must be given to the Centennial High Art Club in Meridian who submitted two incredible "houses" - one a replica of Bronco Stadium and the other a replica of Zoo Boise.

The event raised a record-breaking amount to help out the Family Advocate Program, and they wanted to pass along their thanks to everyone who attended and helped make it such a success.

Go Red for Women Luncheon

The Boise Centre on the Grove was awash in red on Wednesday, October 17 for the Go Red for Women Luncheon.  Over 400 women came together to learn how to prevent cardiovascular disease and promote heart health in women.  Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women; every 60 seconds a woman dies from cardiovascular disease.  Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association’s nationwide movement that celebrates the energy, passion and power we have as women to band together and wipe out heart disease.

The luncheon, now in its 7th year, was chaired this year by Suzi Boyle.  Attendees enjoyed a heart-healthy lunch while listening to moving stories by people whose lives have been touched by heart disease.  A slideshow was presented on heart disease and then the keynote speaker, Lauve Metcalf, took the stage.  A professor of health education from the University of Arizona, Lauve was both extremely entertaining and inspiring and was a real highlight of the event.  The presentations concluded with 60 women dressed in black stepping up to the stage, two at a time, symbolizing the 60 women statistically who had died in the past hour during the event. 

Each attendee received Go Red For Women pins which they were encouraged to wear to symbolize their commitment to love their heart.  In addition, each received a goody box that contained more pins, plus coupons, some dark chocolate and a bottle of wine (yum!).  The silent auction was quite extensive with over 75 items, showing a tremendous effort by the Go Red For Women Committee, and included many unique red items.  The only tiny improvement I can see is for them to have included a bidder number or have had carbon bid sheets to facilitate the tracking of items won and the checkout process.   After the luncheon, several Breakout Sessions were offered by exhibit experts in the community who presented information on a wide range of topics pertinent to women and heart health. 

Each person was encouraged to "know your numbers" (Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Blood Pressure, etc) and to follow a healthy lifestyle to help reduce the risk of heart disease.   Overall, it was an really good educational event which emphasized women empowering themselves, loving themselves and taking care of themselves. 

Stopping Domestic Violence at Grapes Against Wrath

It was a fabulous way to spend a Thursday evening on October 18, 2007 at the 6th Annual Grapes Against Wrath fundraiser!  Smooth jazz, wines to delight the palate, and absolutely scrumptious food was served up, along with a silent auction with about 40 terrific items to bid on.

All of the proceeds went to benefit four different organizations that are working to stop domestic violence, and help victims of abuse: Family Advocate Center & Education Services (FACES), Idaho Legal Aid Services, Idaho Volunteer Lawyer Program, and the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence.  These organizations help hundreds just in southwest Idaho each year to escape the cycle of violence and to receive services to overcome the trauma that can be inflicted upon them.

The committee that put on Grapes Against Wrath did a super job. The Boise Depot was a perfect location, offering a view of the city and great acoustics for the jazz band that provided tunes throughout the evening to get everyone in a festive and giving mood.  This fundraiser is highlighted by a fun wine tasting, and the wine choices were great, running from bubbly champagnes to hearty cabernets. Many thanks to the Boise Co-op for donating the proceeds from the sale of wine at the event to these organizations!

By 6:15, the place was filling up with supporters there engaged and ready to help support the Idaho Partners Against Domestic Violence (the coalition of the above-mentioned organizations), starting bidding wars on items such as a fantastic dinner at Mortimer's along with a cooking lesson from Jon Mortimer himself, spa packages to relax and soothe you, and tickets to local sporting events.

There was something for everyone at this event!  Make sure you keep a look out for next year's Grapes Against Wrath!  This is a fun way to help tackle a serious problem in our community.