21ST ANNUAL MISSION CREEK GALA: POLLINATORS

Union Bank is a generous longtime sponsor of the Gala. Union Bank President Vincent Caballero, Colleen Anderson Caballero, Penny Sharrett posing for a photo with Museum President & CEO Luke J. Swetland and his wife and Committee Member Stacey Byers The 21st Annual Mission Creek Gala: Pollinators took place Saturday, March 7. The sold-out event raised more than $445,000 to support Museum and Sea Center education programs including field trip scholarships to low-income schools. Gala Committee Members included co-chairs Elisabeth Fowler and Susan Parker, as well as Stacey Byers, Jenna Savage Davis, Sheri Eckmann, Venesa Faciane, Caroline Grange, Heather Hambleton, Pippa Hames-Knowlton, Tamara Jensen, Emily Jones, Bobbie Kinnear, Kaliope Kopley, Tracy Krainer, Meridith Moore, Robyn Parker, Luke Swetland, and Pam Valeski.

Guests first enjoyed a lovely reception in the Museum’s exhibit halls with pollinator education stations including bats, hummingbirds, and butterflies. The signature cocktail, the Agavinator, was inspired by the agave plant which is pollinated by long-nosed bats. After the reception, guests made their way to the newly restored Fleischmann Auditorium for the dramatic décor reveal which had been transformed into a beehive by Joy Full Events, Inc. and Hogue & Co.

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1. Committee Member Robyn Parker, Gabrielle Carey, Shannon and Brad Vernon, and Sam Carey 2. Museum Trustee Carolyn Chandler and Kurt Koenig enjoying the Honey Bee Tableau 3. Dancer Ahna Lipchik entertained guests with a spirited dance of the Honey Bee Waggle. 4. Museum Trustee and Committee member Bobbie Kinnear and Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree in the Queen Bee Tableau 5. Keith and Lorraine Reichel 6. Mandy Lopez Hollis, Gala Committee Member Heather Hambleton and Kelly Milazzo 7. Charlie Thrift is an alumnus of the Quasars to Sea Stars program, who provided a passionate account of his time at the Museum.