Email
PrintFundraisers: Lights, snow, and magic
Warm yourself in the Botanical Gardens, embrace the chill of the slopes at Kissing Bridge, celebrate medical marvels, or experience a night of magic—and in the process help support the agencies that make Buffalo a community and cultural masterpiece.
Night Lights at the Gardens
Beneficiary: Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Weds.–Th., 6–9 p.m., and Fri.–Sat., 6–10 p.m., February 1–18 at the Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. Tickets: $10; call Erin Grajek at 827-1584, or visit www.buffalogardens.com.
Theatrical spotlights will shine on the Gardens’ spectacular living collection throughout the month, lighting it from the inside to create an extraordinary nighttime view. Strolling guests will enjoy soundscapes and interactive displays that are a feast for the senses. All proceeds from the event help maintain the Gardens and its 111-year legacy of urban beautification.
Night on the Slopes
Beneficiary: Aspire of WNY. 4–10 p.m. on Thursday, February 2, at Kissing Bridge North, Colden. Tickets: $20 for tubing and the dinner buffet, $40 for lift ticket and dinner buffet; $50 for lesson, rental, lift ticket, and dinner buffet; or $20 to watch the skiing from indoors and just enjoy the dinner buffet; call Cassandra Donnelly at 505-5514, or go to www.aspirewny.org.
Kissing Bridge’s North Area Lodge will host this event’s dinner buffet from 6 to 8 p.m. with pasta, pizza, chicken parmesan, hot chocolate (of course), and a cash bar. In addition to the buffet, guests will enjoy six hours of open skiing, with access to all trails, or four hours of tubing. Last year, Night on the Slopes attracted more than 300 people, with all proceeds going to support Aspire’s work with children and adults with developmental disabilities.
32nd Annual Buffalo Niagara Heart Ball
Beneficiary: The American Heart Association. 5:30 p.m.–midnight on Saturday, February 4, at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo, Two Fountain Plaza, Buffalo. Tickets: $350 per person; call Jennifer Pratt at 614-1999, or visit www.heart.org.
“Back to the Heart Ball”—a play on Back to the Future—is the theme for this year’s gala event, which has raised more then $1.9 million during its thirty-two-year run. The creative black tie dress will be seasoned by those who want to add a dash of elegance from the ’50s through the ’80s, or even something futuristic, to their evening wear. The décor will highlight different medical marvels achieved throughout the years with research backed by the AHA. Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and tunes from the Buffalo Diva Show Band and the Lakeside Blues Band will be followed by a sit-down dinner and program honoring the late Wilson Greatbatch. Following dinner, the Boys of Summer will perform hits from the past six decades. Proceeds from the event go to benefit research and education programs of the AHA.
Night of Magic
Beneficiary: Gliding Stars of WNY. 6:30–10 p.m. on Saturday, February 25, at the Buffalo Launch Club, 503 E. River Rd., Grand Island. Tickets: $35 per person; call Gale and Dick Sander at 608-8345, or go to www.glidingstars.org.
Local magician-extraordinaire Ted Burzynski will wow the crowd on the main stage, accompanied by several other magicians performing “table magic,” at this night of mystery. (Don’t be perturbed if someone pulls a coin out of your ear.) During cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, guests will enjoy a high-end Chinese auction with items ranging from Sabres’ jerseys to fine jewelry, followed by a sit-down dinner and the show. Proceeds from the event will help Gliding Stars purchase ice time and special equipment for its special skaters, who range in age from eighteen months to sixty-five years old.
Black Tie Gala
Beneficiary: Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center. 6 p.m.–midnight on Saturday, March 3, at the Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls. Tickets: $175 per person; call Carla Livecchi at 885-8318, ext. 2248, or visit www.askbhsc.org.
This year’s gala has a ’60s theme, and since that can mean free-wheeling hippies or the conservatism of Mad Men, we’re truly talking creative black tie. Lou Billitier of Chef’s and Ryan Erwin and Ken Tirohn of Accessium Group are this year’s chairs, welcoming guests to an evening of ’60s rock and roll with silent and live auctions, plus a basket raffle. Afterwards, attendees will be escorted to a sit-down dinner, followed by dancing and live music. All proceeds from the event support BHSC’s mission to help those with hearing and speech impairments.
Terri Parsell Hilmey is a contributing editor to Spree’s Medical Resource Guide.
