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On Saturday, May 3rd, we held our first annual “Gala in the Gardens.” The setting was the beautiful Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria, a sprawling five-acre paradise filled with landscapes and plants from around the world.
The event kicked off with a Champagne Tour of the Gardens for VIP guests, led by Catherine Herrera, General Manager of Seaside Gardens. These lucky VIPs were treated to champagne and berries, as well as specialty chocolates, courtesy of Chocolat du CaliBressan.
After the Garden tour, the rest of the guests began to arrive and enjoyed delicious food representing various international regions of the garden: Mediterranean, Asian, South American and Californian. Guests sampled local wines donated by Roblar, Brander, Consilience, Zaca Mesa and Gainey wineries and enjoyed the soothing guitar music of local Santa Barbara duo, the Martinez Brothers.
Our Chapter’s CEO, Janet Stanley, presented this year’s Trumpet Award to Sgt. Tom Walton, Emergency Planning and Preparedness Coordinator for Santa Barbara County. The Trumpet Award is given to one person or organization in the community each year that goes the extra mile (or two) to help spread our message of emergency preparedness and increase the visibility of the American Red Cross Chapter in Santa Barbara County.
After the award presentation, the UCSB Middle East Ensemble wowed the crowd with their mix of Persian, Arab, Iraqi, Greek, Armenian and Turkish music as well as expert dancers who gave energetic performances in gorgeous ethnic costumes.
All in all, the event was a success! We want to say a heartfelt thank you to Seaside Gardens for letting us hold this fantastic event in their gardens. We would also like to thank Roblar, Brander, Consilience, Zaca Mesa and Gainey wineries for donating their delicious wines and the Santa Barbara News-Press, Cox and Cumulus Broadcasting (KRUZ 97.5 and MAGIC 106.3), Rincon Catering and Corso Design for their generous support of our event.
Visit The Gala in the (Seaside) Gardens Photo Gallery. |
