First “unGala” a Wild, Sold-Out Success

A big thanks to everyone who attended and volunteered; thanks to you, our sponsors, and everyone who contributed to the event, we raised almost $13,000 for our programs that serve artists and underprivileged youth. Not too shabby for our first big fundraising event. Thank you, and stay tuned for info about next year’s unGala! Missed it? You can still give us a birthday gift. Donate now.Despite a snowy start to the evening, nearly 300 guests of our first sold-out “unGala” gathered at Infinite Monkey Theorem’s winery to celebrate PlatteForum’s 10th birthday on Saturday, March 9. Instead of signage to lead the way, we had a few volunteers costumed as a giant gecko, a tiger, a badger, a pod of peas, and a gorilla direct guests inside. Once inside, we listened and danced to Colorado’s best Latin/Jazz band Conjuntos Colores, dined on eats provided by Carmine’s on Penn (also one of our 2013 sponsors, thanks, Carmine’s!), watched live demonstrations by artists and past PlatteForum Creative Residents Homare Ikeda,Lisa Michot, Lauri Lynnxe Murphy, Hollis+Lana, Michael Gadlin, and Tsehai Johnson.We heard live poetry by emcee Andrea Moore (performance artist, past creative resident) and watched a choreographed number by dancer and performance artist Tara Rynders (past creative resident) with music by DJs Memetic and Pho, our spring 2013 creative residents. About halfway through the unGala, Denver’s favorite party-crashing marching band Boba Fett and the Americans livened up the party, and the Denver Cupcake Truck, parked inside the warehouse, served up the best cupcakes in town. All night, party people wandered into our photo booth, courtesy of Champa Street Productions, and contributed to our community mural to commemorate our 10-year anniversary. And, as promised, we closed out the night with the best dance party EVER with DJs Memetic and Pho at the helm. We rivaled any top dance club with the number of dancers on the floor. Of course, everything went amazingly well alongside a few glasses of Infinite Monkey Theorem wine.

See more pictures on the unGala here and here. And more are on the way.Check out what the Denver Post had to say about our fabulous party.