Arden Theatre Company Raises $186,500 at Granfalloon 2010

Arden Theatre Company's biennial gala, Granfalloon, took place on Friday, June 11, 2010 at the Comcast Center, 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard. The event grossed $186,500 through ticket sales, donations, sponsorships, and live and silent auctions. The event was held in honor of N. Peter Hamilton, a longtime Arden board member and support of Arden Children's Theatre and Arden for All.

Leaders of Granfalloon 2010 included honorary co-chairs Rhonda and David Cohen, along with event co-chairs Lee and Chris van de Velde and the Granfalloon Committee which includes Ronna F. Hall, Chair; Michael A. Donato and Peter Sonzogni, Auction Co-Chairs; as well as thirteen other committee members and over 100 Host Committee members. A full list of Host Committee members is available online at ardentheatre.org/granfalloon/committee.html. Event sponsors included Aloe Investment Corporation, Comcast, Independence Foundation and Hamilton Family Foundation. A complete list can be found online at ardentheatre.org/granfalloon/sponsors.html.

Event sponsors and host committee began the evening with dinner at Ralph's Café, on the 43rd floor of the Comcast Center. Then, over 300 guests joined together in the Winter Garden Lobby for cocktails and dessert buffet, along with a silent auction and dancing under the 25 foot high Comcast Experience Video Wall to the rocking sounds of Leroy Hawkes and the Hipnotics, accompanied by Arden artists Joilet F. Harris, Alex Keiper, and Steve Pacek. Barrymore-Award winning actor Ian Merrill Peakes led the bidding for the live auction.

Granfalloon Honoree N. Peter Hamilton has been a member of the Arden's board for 10 years and a tremendous Arden supporter for many years. In 1998, support from Peter Hamilton as well as the Hamilton Family Foundation was instrumental in launching Arden Children's Theatre. Arden Children's Theatre is now in its 12th season, and has been seen by more than 325,000 patrons. Hamilton continues to be a key supporter of the Arden's work with children, including their education outreach program, Arden for All, serving over 5,000 kids in the Greater Philadelphia region each year. Hamilton family members, including Peter's mother Dorrance (Dodo), wife Alta, daughters Jessica and Charlotte and son Nat, were in attendance for the celebration.

Arden Theatre Company named the Granfalloon, the company's biennial fundraising gala, after a term coined by Kurt Vonnegut meaning a gathering of like-minded people. The Arden's first production in 1988 was Who Am I This Time? by Kurt Vonnegut.