Donors, Sponsors, & Volunteers

Port Townsend Country Blues Fundraiser

Barbara Hammerman and Raymond Lavine are inviting the Centrum community to their beautiful home in Gig Harbor, Washington for food, fun and music to support Centrum’s Country Blues scholarship program. At this event the scholarship program will be officially named The Cephas and Wiggins Scholarship Fund in honor of retiring Centrum Blues Artistic Director Phil Wiggins.

The private concert takes place inside the magnificent Mighty Wurlitzer music room in Barbara and Raymond's home, Wurlitzer Manor, and is produced by Amanda Gresham's Delta Music Experience. Tacoma businessperson Ryan Harder will open the event with his award-winning slide guitar stylings, including original songs and stories full of the knowledge of the blues.

Please join us on Saturday, July 26, from 3-7 pm and hear some outstanding performances. Blues musicians Phil Wiggins and John Cephas will perform along with a young, accomplished blues duo from Southern California, Nathan James and Ben Hernandez, who triumphed over dozens of other groups in the 2007 International Blues Challenge.

Barbara, Raymond, and Amanda will underwrite all costs so that every dollar contributed will support the Country Blues Festival scholarships. A $100 donation is requested.

For further information, reservations, address, and directions, please contact Barbara at 253.858.4435 or barbara(at)wurlitzermanor(dot)com.

Checks should be made out to "Centrum" and sent to: Port Townsend Country Blues Festival Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 1158, Port Townsend, WA, 98368

2008 Donor 'Thank You' Events

Centrum thrives because of the courage and understanding of you, our donors. Each year, we endeavor to connect donors with experiences that deepen their connection to the people and activities their generosity serves.

For a complete list of our 2008 donor events, please download our 2008 "Thank You Calendar. For questions and more information, please contact our Donor Events Manager, Kendra Golden, at kendra@centrum.org.

Glass Art Auction and Sale November 24

As part of a contribution to Centrum, visual artists Gordon Redmond and Laura Popenoe will sell several pieces of their work on Saturday, November 24, at Fort Worden State Park’s Building 204.

Items will be available for viewing and silent bidding between 2 and 4 pm. The back entrance of Building 204 has a ramp and an elevator, making the venue accessible to persons of all abilities.

Community Gives Record Amount at 2007 Centrum Gala

The theme was “Imagine,” but Gala chair Jean Marzan says, “I never imagined quite this level of  generosity! Once again Centrum patrons outdid themselves.”

THANK YOU to all you Centrum supporters. You set a new fundraising record of $260,000 last Saturday night. 

The amount raised goes well beyond the previous record of $230,000, set in 2006. And Gala attendees raised over $70,000 specifically for scholarships.

The Gala was run almost entirely by nearly 150 community volunteers. Table captains filled 35 tables of ten attendees each, who bid on the hundreds of silent and live auction items donated by local and regional businesses and individuals.

“We reduced the number of items we sold at the auction by half,” Marzan says, “and still, guests gave about $30,000 more than last year. The Gala is all about enjoying the best party on the peninsula while raising money for a very worthwhile organization."

George Radebaugh and Friends played jazz standards as Gala attendees walked down a red carpet to the auction and banquet floor. Dinner was catered by Dream City Catering, and auctioneer Laura Michalek and Seattle actress Rebecca Davis led the auction.

Items and experiences such as trips to New York, the Caribbean, and Thailand, as well as gourmet dinners by renowned local chefs and hosts kept paddles raised throughout the evening.

Former Centrum executive director Joseph Wheeler and 2007 jazz scholarship student Ashley Davis gave special presentations. Willene Jaqua, widow of artist Russell Jaqua, gave a presentation that raised $36,000 to launch the Russell Jaqua Fund for Artistic Excellence.

Volunteer Training Recap

Thank you to all those who helped make last night's (April 24) volunteer meeting something truly special. In 2006, more volunteers, donors, workshop attendess, and audience members came to Centrum for life-changing experiences than ever before in the history of the 35-year-old history of the organization. And if last night is any indication, 2007 will raise the bar even higher.

Kicking off the volunteer seminer, Sally Rodgers presented an orientation for new volunteers in the southern wing of Building 204. Afterward, Centrum's newest volunteers joined with returning volunteers in the northern wing to sample fruit and cheese and crackers, while enjoying wine. Then, Sue Ammeter, Daniel Barnes, and John Allen gave presentations on how best to assist Centrum audience members who are living with visual, physical, or hearing disabilities. We are so grateful to all of our presenters and the volunteers who donate their time, energies, and skills to making the extraordinary, life-changing artistic events possible at Centrum.

The number of volunteers grew from 282 in 2005 to 335 in 2006 as community members gave a total of 7,900 volunteer hours in remodeling  artist housing, taking tickets at performances, stuffing envelopes, registering workshop participants, and fundraising. "That's a 23% increase in volunteer hours," said volunteer coordinator Sally Rodgers, "and it's interesting how closely that growth corresponds to the overall increase in Centrum revenues.

"I am in awe of this community's generosity," says Centrum's executive director, Thatcher Bailey. "There is no arts institution in the Pacific Northwest blessed with anywhere near this same relative level of support."

                                                                                                                     

Dinner with the Professor!

On a beautiful Friday evening, April 20, twenty successful bidders from the 2006 Gala Dinner & Auction enjoyed drinks and dinner with Russell Johnson, "the Professor" from Gilligan's Island, who had a long career in film and television.

Johnson, along with his wife, Connie, met with the bidders before dinner for drinks. In the living room of the Bailey House on Discovery Road, Johnson talked about being shot down as a pilot during World War II, about going to acting school on the GI Bill, and about the early  days television and movies. He also talked about how he turned down the role of the Professor twice before accepting it.

Johnson also starred in a number of motion pictures, including one of the first-ever 3D films, It Came From Outer Space. He appeared in other films with such luminaries as Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Ronald Reagan. Now, he remains proud of the fact that his character, the Professor, helped many children to get excited about science.

Thank you! to all those Gala attendees who bid on this experience. Your generosity supports Centrum programs and scholarships. Without your support, the experiences in the arts that take place each month at Centrum would simply not happen.

Print Archive Celebration

Thanks to partnership with Fort Worden, several dozen prints made by Centrum artists in residency will be displayed in the Fort Worden houses on Officers' Row.

On the evening of Wednesday evening, April 18, Centrum community members came together to celebrate the framed prints while enjoying cheese and crackers, glazed meatballs, breaded shrimp, fruit, and wine.

In addition, contemplative juggler Thomas Arthur gave a special performance. In a beautiful, synchronized choreography of sound, rhythm, motion, and light, Arthur didn't just juggle: he explored human relationships with objects, how objects affect us, and how the natural world is affected by humans.  

The evening also served as an introduction to Centrum's newest resident partner organization, Corvidae Press, a consortium of 40 northwest printmakers.