Center Celebration 2024 raises nearly $600,000

9/23/2024 12AM

Guests enjoy dinner during the Center Celebration 2024, which took place Saturday at the Palladium. (Photos by Bill Crawford and Sara Crawford)

Annual gala supports Center's arts and educational programming

 

CARMEL, Ind. – Highlighted by a masterful set from trumpeter Chris Botti, Saturday’s annual Center Celebration 2024 presented by Ice Miller generated more than $588,000 to support the mission of the Center for the Performing Arts.

 

The event at the Palladium began with cocktails and a musical welcome by Michael Feinstein, the Center’s artistic director, as guests were seated for dinner. A live auction featured several packages including luxury getaways, sports experiences and two pairs of tickets to Taylor Swift’s tour-closing concert Nov. 3 in Indianapolis. Botti and his band delivered a one-hour set featuring surprise guests on violin, saxophone, guitar and vocals. Two after-parties featured live music from local acts Soul Street and pianist Eric Baker.

 

Proceeds from the auction, table reservations, sponsorships and direct donations will support the Center’s arts and educational programming, which includes mainstage performances by national and international artists, children’s concerts and camps, vocal and instrumental music classes, speaker presentations and reading clubs.

 

“The Center Celebration is always my favorite night of the year, not only for the financial support it generates, but because it brings our friends together as a community,” Center President/CEO Jeffrey C. McDermott said. “We’re so grateful to all of them for the Center’s continued success.”

 

This year’s Gala Steering Committee was co-chaired by Carmel residents Adam Arceneaux and Caroline and Michael Garvey. In addition to Ice Miller, sponsors included First Merchants Bank, Aaron Wealth Advisors, Shiel Sexton, Studio M Architecture and Planning, the Payne & Mencias Group, Current Publishing, Open Gate, Will and Yasmin Stump, Anheuser-Busch, E&J Gallo Winery, St. Elmo Cocktails and Oberer’s Flowers.

 

The Center Celebration 2025 presented by Ice Miller is set for Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Palladium. Information and table reservations are available now at TheCenterPresents.org/Gala.

 

About the Center for the Performing Arts

The mission of the nonprofit Center for the Performing Arts is to engage and inspire the Indiana community through enriching arts experiences. Its campus in Carmel, Indiana, includes the 1,500-seat Palladium concert hall, the 500-seat Tarkington proscenium theater and the black-box Studio Theater. The Center presents and hosts hundreds of events each year, including the Center Presents performance series, featuring the best in classical, jazz, pop, rock, country, comedy and other genres. Educational and experiential programming for all ages includes children’s concerts and camps, book clubs, lectures and music classes. The Center is home to the affiliated Great American Songbook Foundation and provides space and support services for six resident arts companies. More information is available at TheCenterPresents.org.