Fire & Ice Gala to Benefit UB Center for the Arts

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts will present "Fire & Ice," a benefit gala for the Center for the Arts' outreach activities, on, Dec. 10. The event will be held in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus and is sponsored by Gibraltar.

UB President John B. Simpson and Katherine L. Gower are honorary chairs. Proceeds from the celebration will benefit the introduction of children to the live performing arts through the center's School Time Transportation Fund, Dance Outreach Residency and Explore the Arts Summer Program.

The theme of the night will be "Fire & Ice." The center's stages and backstage areas will be transformed into a romantic "winter magic" scene. Creative black tie is encouraged, but not required.

Tickets for the event are $100 per person. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with an open bar, hors d'oeuvres and auctions. The event moves to the Mainstage theater for dinner, desserts, dancing, cash bar and auctions. The gourmet menu, prepared by Fanny's restaurant, includes: carving, pasta, crepes, salad, side dishes and specialty desserts.

The John Bacon Trio will perform live music during the cocktail hour. Patrons will dance to the music of the Billy McEwen Band following dinner. The event will include a silent auction and theme-tray auction featuring spa treatments, theatre tickets, original art, Scanlon's jewelry, autographed memorabilia, weekend get-a-way packages and much more.

Tickets are available by contacting Laura Scala, Director of Development at 645-7343 or lscala@buffalo.edu.

The mission of the Center for the Arts is to create an environment for the visual and performing arts to flourish through education, exploration, collaboration and presentation. Proceeds from the annual gala and individual donations provide financial support to the center's outreach activities.

Each year the center programs a professional dance residency, which benefits not only UB's students but also the Western New York community. The residency program is designed to bring together dance students, students of related performing and fine art disciplines, dance companies and K-12 schools from throughout the community. Residency activities and master classes are provided at no cost to area schools that are interested in participating. Previous center dance residencies have reached more than 1,000 Western New York school children.

The center's School Time Transportation Stipend program has benefited hundreds of area underserved schoolchildren by providing free buses to School Time performances. The center also provides scholarships based on need to one-third of its participants in the Explore the Arts Summer Program for children in grades 5-8.