Dressed in their most festive jazz and Mardi Gras attire, artists and community supporters enjoyed delicious Cajun cuisine by Bev Gannon’s Celebrations Catering, live Dixieland Jazz by Raw Silk featuring Kelly Covington and Fulton Tashombe, live and silent auction of fine art and service packages led by expert auctioneer Kip Toner, youth dance performance by Maui Academy of Performing Arts dancers and our established Raise the Paddle auction- this year, in support of Hui youth programs.
John W. Hoxie, Jr. was awarded the Board of Directors Recognition Award for his longstanding commitment to and support of the arts center throughout his 7-year volunteer tenure. Maui artist George Allan was awarded the Hui Angel Award in appreciation of his many years of inspiration, volunteerism and dedication to the Hui. Inger Tully, Hui Board Member and Curator of Exhibitions of The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, offered a heartwarming appeal to event attendees to Raise their Paddles, resulting in a hugely successful $75,000 auction that will benefit youth programs in 2010.
“Meeting our Raise the Paddle goal was both an exciting and very emotional experience,” says Kelly McHugh, Children’s Program Coordinator, “We’ve worked so hard over the past year building & strengthening programs that enable access to high-quality arts education to youth from all Maui neighborhoods- from day trips to the Hui to customized classes for children with special needs to partnering with public schools on getting our artists into their classrooms- it’s incredibly rewarding to know that our work has made a difference and that our supporters are so ready & willing to help in this way.”
In the spirit of the theme “The Bourbon Street Ball,” the Hui will be donating a portion of the event’s proceeds to New Orleans-based nonprofit “Young Aspirations / Young Artists” whose mission is to empower creative young people to become successful adults via the arts.
“We have been so fortunate to sustain and even build our support system during what has been a very challenging year for the nonprofit arts sector here on Maui,” says Hui Executive Director Caroline Killhour, “one can only imagine the added difficulty of trying to raise funds for the arts in New Orleans. We are honored to support a fellow arts education organization in this way and enormously thankful to all of the volunteers and supporters that helped to make this year’s Art Affair such a success.”
Mahalo to all of you who came together to create such a memorable evening. Learn more at www.artaffairmaui.com
Photos by Anna Kim
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