Passed hors d’oeuvres

-          Smoked salmon

-          Mini Reuben sandwiches

-          Banger bites on Irish Soda Bread

Dinner buffet

-          Garden salad with assorted dressings

-          Colcannon (Irish potato salad)

-          Choice of three entrees:

• Carved leg of lamb with mint jelly
• Boneless short ribs with Guinness demi glaze
• Chicken armagh with an apple, butter, and onion reduction

-          Roasted root vegetables

-          Scalloped potatoes with chive onions

-          Vegetable medley

-          Irish soda bread and dinner rolls with whipped butter

Dessert

-          Rastin (Irish lemon cheesecake)

-          Bread pudding with Irish cream sauce

-          Assorted cupcakes, cookies, and brownies

Clover. Photo: JD Hancock via Flickr.

As if a collection of enticing Live and Silent Auction items wasn’t enough, take a look at some of the entertainment we have lined up for the evening:

-          Nashville artist and Staunton native Scott Cash, who was on the road with the Statler Brothers for more than a decade, teams with local jazz great George Taylor.

-          Guests will also enjoy a delicious Irish-themed dinner prepared by Mike Goff, Cross Keys Chef and former Executive Chef and owner of The Dining Room in Staunton.

Make your Gala reservations by mailing a check made out to “Stuart Hall School Foundation” with “Gala tickets” on the memo line, or by calling me at 540-213-7003.  Tickets are $85 per person, or you may reserve a table for ten for $1,000.

- Winsor Wood ’04, Alumnae/i and Development

Beautiful Cross Keys Vineyard in Mount Crawford, Virginia – the site of this year’s Gala

If you haven’t already, be sure to mark your calendars for When Dragon Eyes are Smiling!
March 16
6:30 pm
Cross Keys Vineyard
Email me anytime with your ticket reservations: wwood@stuart-hall.org

– Winsor Wood ’04, Development Associate,  Stuart Hall School

We have already begun to gather an enticing collection of auction items, and we would love your contribution!

Do you have anything in mind that you would like to donate?  A special service or activity, tickets to sports events, a round of golf and lunch for four at your country club, a week or weekend’s stay at your vacation home, a cocktail or dinner party, a children’s party or event, a work of art? All are very popular items for our Auctions.

Our highly entertaining auctioneers are returning this year and have made all the difference to the success of our Live Auctions in the past!

– Winsor Wood ’04, Development Associate,  Stuart Hall School

Veritas Vineyard

Dear Parents and Friends of Stuart Hall School,

We’re only 10 days away from the biggest night of the year for Stuart Hall School, our annual Gala! A number of parents, board members, and school staff have worked extremely hard to make sure this is the best Gala ever. With spring springing, and a venue at the lovely Veritas Vineyard, the night is sure to be a wonderful opportunity to socialize and celebrate Stuart Hall School.

Tickets

So…have you reserved your tickets yet??? We’ve sold many tickets already and are looking forward to a full house for an evening full of fun, as well as to catch up with all those who believe in Stuart Hall and what it provides for its students.

It’s very easy to reserve your spot. Just call Winsor Wood ’04 at (540) 885-0356 or email her with your request: Winsor Wood ’04. She can take your reservation and credit card information.

We’re looking forward to seeing you all at Veritas on Saturday, March 24.

Sincerely,

Laura Nordstrom, Gala Chairwoman

PS. Please take a look at the Gala website and get a preview of auction items online.

Herend Porcelain Dragon

It’s just a little over two weeks until our annual Gala night. We continue to receive lovely donations from a variety of businesses and STU families so I hope you’ll check out our donations page today to whet your appetite for the auction offerings.

In the meantime I’ll point out a few special donations that come directly from the school itself or are themed around life at school. Some of these items are highly coveted treasures that Gala attendees look for each year.

Be the boss

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to run a school? Now’s your chance to find out if you win the bid to become the Lower School Head or Middle School Head for the day.

Membership has its privileges

If you’re chronically late, or just enjoy the VIP feeling of pulling up into your own private parking spot for curbside service, then bid on several No Need to Speed offerings. We’ve got one package to ensure four reserved front row seats and a prime parking spot fort the Lower School Spring Sing, another for the Lower School Holiday Program, and one for the Lower School Commencement. If you’re really into sewing up those seats and parking spots, bid on all three!

Another way to bask in the delights of primo access is to win the Grandparents’ Day Deluxe Package. Again you’ll get four reserved front row seats to the Grandparents’ Day Program and this time two front door parking spots for you and yours.

Play to win

If your fancy runs to family games then perhaps you’ll bid on the Stuart Hall-themed Corn Hole Platform donated by Weldon and Cate (Dell ’95) Garris, parents of Colton ’24.

Or, if you’re loving our Year of the Dragon theme, try the Chainsaw Carving of a Dragon donated by Mr. Jake Albright, grandparent of Trinity Snyder ’23. Another option is an elegant Herend Porcelain Dragon offered for auction by alums Dana Parks Gray ’65 and Catherine Parks Loevner ’67.

A toast to you

Lower School Crest Wine Glasses

Also on auction this year are 24 wine glasses embellished with the Lower School crest. These would be a lovely way to remember both the school, and Gala night at the amazing Veritas Vineyard.

Stay tuned

Please keep following the Gala Website, where you can sign up on any inside page for our blog updates. And under any picture or page you can use the share buttons to add our information on your Facebook page — a great way to build enthusiasm for the big event!

I’ll continue to let you know about wonderful auction items and details about the evening in the following weeks.

In the meantime, it’s time to get your tickets while you still can.

–Laura Nordstrom, Gala Chairwoman

Having just celebrated the lunar new year at Stuart Hall, officially bringing us into the Year of the Dragon, we’re now counting down to our annual gala with its Year of the Dragon theme.

Sponsors

Our friends at Elmore, Hupp & Company have generously underwritten the gala as our Marquee sponsors. Many thanks to them for their support. We hope you’ll visit their website to learn more about their many accounting, tax, and financial services.

You can read about our many other generous sponsors on our sponsorship page. We encourage you to follow the links to learn more about these businesses, too. There are still sponsorship opportunities, so feel free to contact us to discuss your involvement with this signature Stuart Hall event.

Donations

Auction items have also begun to come in. We’re excited to offer vacations, services, and unique goods on gala night.

You can see current donations on our auction page, which is randomly displayed each visit. Each of these items also has links to the website of donors where applicable. We’re so thankful to the businesses and individuals who are participating in our gala and again we encourage you to visit their websites to learn more about their goods and services.

If you’d like to donate an auction item, please visit our donor page to learn more. You can download a donor form and get involved right away.

Staying in touch

In the coming weeks we’ll be adding new sponsors and items almost every day so we hope you’ll visit the website often to see what’s new. To subscibe to our blog, simply enter your email address into the subscribe field on the upper right hand side bar of this page — or any inside page on the website.

We’ll soon have more details about our entertainment that night, and important information about transportation options and nearby accommodations should you be interested.

Tickets are already available by phone and supplies are limited. Buy yours early to ensure that you’ll be at one of our most exciting parent-sponsored fundraising events of the year.

–Laura Nordstrom, Gala Chairwoman

Pitch in...your expertise is needed, and your volunteerism is appreciated!

For three years I’ve had the honor of serving as the Stuart Hall School Gala Fundraising Chair. But I couldn’t have done any of it without the tremendous support of the school’s Development Team, lead by Director Margaret Wood.

Our team of enthusiastic parent volunteers has been equally crucial to the success of this special annual event. We’d love to have you join us.

There are many ways that you can get involved with and support the Gala planning. We have opportunities in every area of planning and production, from helping to solicit sponsorships and auction donations, to stuffing and stamping envelopes, to carting in and setting up decor for Gala night. If you’re interested in volunteering in any capacity, I urge you to use the Contact Form to reach out to us. We’ll promptly put the right person in touch with you.

Best,

–Laura Nordstrom, Chairwoman, Stuart Hall Gala

Welcome to the Website of the annual Stuart School Gala Fundraiser. The site is designed to involve our entire community of Gala participants, from our generous underwriters and sponsors, to our Gala volunteers, to attendees at the big event.

On the blog you’ll find regular updates as we move toward Gala night:  March 24, 2012. Subscribe to the blog by entering your e-mail address into the field on the upper right hand side bar. We’ll send you an e-mail whenever we’ve posted a new blog entry —every few weeks or so.

If you’re interested in getting involved as an underwriter, please visit our Become a Sponsor page for more details. Parent and alumni volunteers for the event can use the Contact page to get in touch, share ideas, or offer assistance.

As silent auction items are donated, we’ll be posting a list of items so attendees will get a taste of most of what’s on offer. Of course some items will just have to be surprises!

Tickets are limited to 250 this year due to capacity considerations at our venue, Veritas Vineyard and Winery. Follow the blog to stay abreast of ticket information and opportunities to reserve your tickets online.

Thanks for reading and I hope you’re as excited as I am about this year’s Gala, and the new Website, which offers a great way to showcase our event and stay in touch with you.

In the meantime, poke around the Website to learn more about our annual Gala, and this year’s event in particular. We’re very excited about our theme, The Year of the Dragon for four reasons in particular. Read about them on our Gala Event page.

–Laura Nordstrom, Chairwoman, Stuart Hall Gala