{"id":81166,"date":"2020-01-29T09:40:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T14:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=81166"},"modified":"2022-09-26T10:27:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T14:27:56","slug":"wright-state-university-graduates-co-chair-artsgala-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2020\/01\/29\/wright-state-university-graduates-co-chair-artsgala-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State University graduates co-chair ArtsGala 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wright State graduates Nancy and David Smith are co-chairs of the 2020 ArtsGala, which takes place on March 28 in the Creative Arts Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

Each year, more than 800 patrons gather in Wright State University\u2019s Creative Arts Center for an unforgettable evening of great food, world-class entertainment and an inside glimpse at the rising stars of tomorrow in art, music, theatre, dance and motion pictures. ArtsGala<\/a> has been delighting guests for 20 years, and this year\u2019s co-chairs, David and Nancy Smith, hope to build on the gala\u2019s longstanding tradition of excellence and expand the event to an even broader audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith any organization or any event, you have to bring in younger people and be more expansive and inclusive,\u201d said David Smith, a 1986 Wright State graduate. \u201cIf you haven\u2019t been before, you don\u2019t know what you are missing out on. This is a gem of an event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Showcasing Wright State\u2019s most talented students in the fine and performing arts, ArtsGala offers something for everyone \u2014 from young professionals to the young at heart. ArtsGala patrons are treated to a variety of live performances in dance, opera, classical music, jazz and the best of Broadway. Themed dining rooms, student films and a silent auction round out the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see what the students do, it really is very young and lively and exciting,\u201d said 1992 Wright State alumna Nancy Smith. \u201cOnce people attend the event, they\u2019ll be regulars. It\u2019s that exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

ArtsGala 2020 takes place on Saturday, March 28, in the Creative Arts Center. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit wright.edu\/artsgala<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For this year\u2019s ArtsGala, the Smiths have added several new elements to the event including an indoor beer garden featuring local and regional craft beers, a speakeasy with specialty cocktails and an all-new opening ceremony featuring the Wright State Jazz Band.<\/p>\n

While maintaining longstanding partnerships with Dayton\u2019s best caterers, the Smiths are collaborating with some of the newest establishments on the local dining scene to take the food and beverage quality at ArtsGala to the next level. They are also working with Wright State alumni to create unique experiences for patrons to bid on during the silent auction. From Broadway performances to world-class food, wine and cigars, this year\u2019s silent auction will appeal to every palette.<\/p>\n

Along with showcasing Wright State\u2019s best students in art, music, theatre, dance and motion pictures, ArtsGala raises more than $250,000 annually for student scholarships in the fine and performing arts. Guests who are interested in further expanding their support of Wright State students are invited to join the ArtsGala Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ArtsGala Society is a great way for individuals to support the event and scholarships,\u201d said Nick Warrington, director of events and community engagement for the College of Liberal Arts<\/a>. Along with receiving tickets to the event, ArtsGala Society members are assigned a scholarship and an individual student to support for one year.<\/p>\n

In addition to recruiting more members to the ArtsGala Society, Warrington welcomes new community partners and corporate sponsors. \u201cThis a great event to bring clients or potential employees to,\u201d said Warrington.<\/p>\n

While the Smiths have attended ArtsGala for years, they could not even begin to imagine the scope and breadth of the event until they experienced it for the first time. With 11 live performances for guests to enjoy, the Smiths advise patrons to review the schedule and venue map and then craft their plan for the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t possibly see it all,\u201d said Nancy. \u201cThe beauty of that is you just come back the next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with enjoying the excitement of shaping one of the Dayton region\u2019s premier arts events, the Smiths are happy to give back to their alma mater by serving as ArtsGala co-chairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cNancy and I both came from traditional middle-class families. Wright State was a great resource,\u201d said David. \u201cAny success that I have garnered through the years \u2014 the fundamentals were learned here. They gave me a great education to be successful at what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed going to school here,\u201d said Nancy, who continues to be impressed with the value and quality that Wright State provides to its students. \u201cIt\u2019s a great springboard for a variety of disciplines.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ArtsGala co-chairs David and Nancy Smith hope to build on the gala\u2019s longstanding tradition of excellence and expand the event to an even broader audience. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":81182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4309,729,2037,4312,4859,2040,725,747,715,2082],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-association","category-around-campus","category-arts-scene","category-artsgala","category-fine-and-performing-arts","category-giving","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news","category-robert-and-elaine-stein-art-galleries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81166"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81202,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81166\/revisions\/81202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}