Great together

The Phantom of the Opera, who usually hides in a cavern underneath the Paris Opera, emerged to attend the Waseca Art Center's Great Fall Get-Together, which took place from 6 – 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Starfire Event Center in Waseca.

 

The popularity of last year's event, which drew 130 revelers to the crowded upper story of the Waseca Art Center, convinced the Art Center board that a bigger venue was needed. The Starfire Event Center, decked out as Midnight in the French Quarter, proved ideal, with more space and a more accessible ground floor, for which some of the less athletically inclined, elderly members of the art community were grateful.

 

While Ann Johannsen and Molly Erdman distributed tickets to a flock of enthusiastic phantoms, witches, and bats in the front hall, Ann Fee, director of the St. Peter Art Center, read tarot cards for the creatures of the night who wanted the upper hand on fate.

 

The Phantom, who more commonly appears as Brad Milbrath,  Waseca County Commissioner, even brought a doppelganger in the person of Mikhail Rostislavovich, vice president of the Waseca Art Center board. Melissa Donner, board president, could not attend on Saturday, but the affable Rostislavovich greeted everyone with an engaging smile, and was quick to give credit to all those individuals who made the Great Fall Get-Together a success. “We've got an incredible committee,” said Rostislavovich.

 

One of those individuals was Liz O'Brien of the Waseca Art Center Fundraising Committee, who fashioned the bigger-than-life jazz musician silhouettes that bordered the stage on which the Waseca High School Jazz Band entertained until 8:00.

 

Throughout the evening O'Brien and Christy Easton helped guests win prizes from tissue-paper-covered “punch” cups, as well as a new feature this year: a wall of large, black envelopes printed with suggested donations. The stipulated donation would close the envelope with a gold star and likewise provide the donor with a gold star to wear. The specific purpose of the Giving Wall was to provide funds toward the Art Center's ceramics department where guests can sign up for classes. Although the Waseca Art Center has recently purchased a new kiln, other supplies are still needed.

 

Milbrath and Rostislavovich weren't the only tuxedoed gentlemen in the room. Dwight Tostenson, CEO of the philanthropic Redemption Project in St. Paul, could easily have sidled into a Dickens novel without any of the characters being the wiser. Tostenson spends his days hunting for donors to aid his mission in helping newly released prisoners prepare for and adjust to life outside institutional walls in order to prevent recidivism. He stepped out in his top hat on Saturday evening in aid of another worthy cause: the Waseca Art Center's biggest fundraiser of the year.

 

And speaking of roaring successes, Sergeant Tim Schroeder of the Waseca police force ironically turned up as a 1920s style Mafia member, the perfect counterpart to flapper girl Stacey Schroeder.

 

The threat of the Mafia didn't stop Cathie Glynn from winning the diamond and pink sapphire necklace worth $1,300, donated by Williams Diamond Center for the Keys to my Art raffle. The collection of $30 keys sold out as contestants hoped there's would open the treasure chest. Even those who didn't win had a good time; “It's for a good cause,” said Grace Ouyang. who, along with husband Jared Wachter, was one of the evening's Incredibles.

 

It was a wizard and witch in the persons of Chester and Jessica Stuckmayer who won the bottle of Peerless Toasted Bourbon, the most expensive item on the Wine and Spirits Wall. Board members and other individuals throughout the community donated bottles of wine and spirits. Interested parties could buy a cork for $20, which bought them one of the bottles, but they had to wait until the end of the soirée to find out which.

 

While they waited, guests could mingle, sample appetizers, and sip beverages from the Starfire Event Center, and bid on items in the silent auction,  At 8 p.m. when the band broke up, Larry Born served as auctioneer until all the live auction items were sold.

 

The purpose of the Waseca Art Center's Great Fall Get-Together fundraiser is, according to the evening's program notes, “to expand quality of life in our community and beyond by offering accessible, educational, and diverse art experiences and resources.” There were a lot of first-time guests at this year's Great Fall Get-Together, and each of them declared they would be back, which bodes well for the future of this Waseca county treasure: the Waseca County Art Center.