PAINTS Bird House Gala Set for May 25

From a Press Release by P.A.I.N.T.S. (Promote Art in the Schools)

Promote Art in the Schools, Inc. (PAINTS), will hold its signature fundraiser to benefit visual arts programs in Piedmont schools on May 25 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.  The 10th Annual PAINTS Bird House Gala will take place in the lovely garden of a private Colonial-style home. Individual tickets for the event, which often sells out, go on sale in mid-April.

The Bird House Gala will feature both live and silent auctions. Art at this year’s gala will be a bit broader in scope than previous years. There will be bird houses, but there will also be more garden art, sculptures, mosaic and 2-D art. 

Many new artists will be featured this year, including Sylvia Gonzales whose work in pastels sells at The Gardener on Fourth Street in Berkeley and elsewhere; Nancy Overton, who works in papier mache; and Larraine Seiden, a parent who works in encaustics. Some of the returning artists include woodworker Daryl Rush, painter and Havens teacher Raul Jorcino, painter Celia Wedding and sculptor Tom Franco.

Entertainment includes performances by the winning 2012 and a trio of musicians from the East Bay jazz ensemble Mingus Amungus. 

The East Bay Caterer Renni Lynn Burg will return to provide appetizers.

Sponsorships for this year’s Bird House Gala begin at $500 and are still available. "Many local businesses ranging from realty company . to Galeria Scola to Hudson’s restaurant choose to support the event because of their dedication to promoting art education in our schools,"  says PAINTS President Alicia Elliott. To find out more about sponsoring the gala, please contact event organizer Karen Stanton at kjstanton@sbcglobal.net.

Individual tickets for the 2012 Bird House Gala, which go on sale in mid-April, are $75 and will beavailable from the PAINTS website here.

Event creator Karen Stanton says of this year’s gala, “Our PAINTS event promises to once again be the most fun school fundraiser in town, and it will also be one of the most important.  Every year the school budgets are threatened with the prospect of shrinking funds and the ‘arts’ are always at the top of the list.  If it weren’t for this gala, money for art teachers, programs and supplies might very well not exist.”

PAINTS was created in 1989 by a group of Piedmont parents whose high school students’ passion was the visual arts. The original goal was to fundraise for the support and supplementation of art programs. Eventually all six Piedmont schools were included in PAINTS’ efforts. Over the years, the organization has grown to nearly 500 members, including parents and others from the community. In 2008, it gained non-profit status. Since its inception, PAINTS has raised more than $350,000.

PAINTS' main activities include putting on regular art shows at the and the local branch, free community art workshops and gatherings, and the . Money it raises goes to fund art activities and stipends in the schools, grants for special art-related projects and professional development for all Piedmont school staff. 

To learn more about PAINTS, visit here. 

For more information on the PAINTS Bird House Gala, please email Karen Stanton at kjstanton@sbcglobal.net.