Stage set for annual ArtsGala at Wright State

ArtsGala will feature more than 450 student performers in 13 unique performances, including selections from “Sweet Charity.”

After a two-year hiatus from in-person performances, Wright State University’s annual ArtsGala is back!

The Dayton region’s most festive and unique arts event is scheduled for Saturday, April 9, with an impressive program featuring student performances in theatre, dance, motion pictures, music and visual arts.

The 7 p.m. to midnight event in the state-of-the-art Creative Arts Center is presented by the Wright State College of Liberal Arts.

The popular black-tie-optional ArtsGala is regarded as one of the area’s premier arts events, drawing several hundred patrons each year. All proceeds go toward scholarships for Wright State’s outstanding fine and performing arts students. The event has raised nearly $3 million for arts scholarships during its 22-year history.

“ArtsGala is my favorite night of the year! I think the most fun for members of the community is that they not only see the talent of our arts students but get to talk with them and hear about their hopes and dreams,” said Linda Caron, Ph.D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “Students are in awe that people they don’t even know care about their future and their success.”

This year ArtsGala celebrates its 23rd year with many special events designed to commemorate the occasion, including more than 450 student performers in 13 unique performances.

Features this year include:

• Percussion Ensemble performance
• Selections from “Sweet Charity”
• Live artistic creation by student artists in the Stein Gallery Art Experience
• Making a scene: motion picture students recreate the set of “BIG”
• Broadway’s Greatest Hits, Disney Rocks! and Oh, Woo Me, Woo Me! (Shakespeare and romance)
• Chamber Orchestra performance – Chamber Music in the Salon
• Opera Under the Parisian Sky
• Dance performances featuring student choreography and performances
• Elegantly themed dining rooms
• Cigar tent and piano bar
• Top-quality wine, craft beer, bourbon, and specialty cocktails

The Party,” a one-of-a-kind monoprint created by senior Alyssa Woosley, who is pursuing a B.F.A. in painting and printmaking, is available in the silent auction at ArtsGala on April 9.

A silent auction, featuring mobile bidding, will offer over 100 items, including:

• Exclusive travel and vacation packages
• Artwork by Wright State faculty, students, alumni and local artists
• Wide variety of wines
• Assortment of luxury gift baskets, gift cards and dining certificates

ArtsGala’s presenting sponsors are Barnes & Noble at Wright State, Morris Furniture Company and Cincinnati Bell – Dayton Region. Other major sponsors include Dayton Business Journal, Prime Time Party Rental, BLC Entertainment, Dayton Daily News, Emerson, HORAN, WHIO-TV, Wright State University Foundation, and Wright State University Hospitality Services provided by Chartwells.

ArtsGala tickets ($300 each) and information are available at 937-775-2233 or wright.edu/artsgala.

Read some of our student and alumni success stories to learn why it’s so important to support ArtsGala at wright.edu/artsgala/why-support-artsgala