From the Mayo Performing Arts Center:
MPAC’s best fundraiser of the year has gone virtual and will be available for the public to view for free. The 22nd annual (virtual) Starlight Ball can be seen on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020, at 6 pm at MayoArts.Org, as well as MPAC’s YouTube and Facebook channels.
The free viewing will enable those who tune in to enjoy the one hour event, which includes a performance by Kristin Chenoweth as well as children who participate in MPAC’s performing arts and Miracle Project programs.
Information on how to support MPAC will be provided throughout the event. MPAC hopes that all viewers will be inspired to support MPAC and its programs during this critical time when the Theatre is only able to operate at a very limited capacity.
Tickets, which include the ability to participate in a Silent Auction, pre-event kickoff and post-event VIP DJ Dance Party Zoom, are $150, and can still be purchased through Friday, Oct. 23.
Proceeds from the event will support MPAC’s critical needs now and going forward as it continues to serve the community with outstanding arts events and education programs. Tickets can be purchased at MayoArts.Org.
“We have all been enriched by having MPAC in our lives,” said Marylyn McLaughlin, Starlight Ball co-chair. “What the world needs now is for all of us to not give up and to support and save the institutions that are dear to our community.”
The Starlight Ball is MPAC’s biggest fundraising event of the year. Traditionally, over 300 people attend the black tie event held each fall. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ball has gone virtual for 2020 and support remains critical.
The Theatre has been closed since March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in millions of dollars of lost ticket sales and dozens of show cancellations. Although currently allowed to operate at a limited capacity of 150 patrons, MPAC faces a long and difficult road ahead before it can once again bring the fully staged productions to capacity crowds.
About MPAC
Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey.
The 2020-2021 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals.
Mayo Performing Arts Center was named 2016 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theatres, and is ranked in the top 50 mid-sized performing arts centers by Pollstar Magazine.
