Garden Party is �a hot, beautiful day�

by Anthony Glassman

Hunting Valley, Ohio--The Cleveland LGBT Center�s 35th annual Garden Party took over Ron Bailey and Bill Edwards� Hunting Valley home on July 24, bringing 350 people in the midst of a heat wave to enjoy entertainment, food, drink and camaraderie.

Led by honorary chairs Henry Hawley and George Vassos, the annual event� saw the center bring in about two months� worth of funding over the course of four hours.

�It was a hot, beautiful day,� said center executive director Jan Cline. �It was very, very hot as most of the past two weeks have been.�

He joked that he might have liked it a touch more if it were 20 degrees cooler, like in the high 70s or low 80s, but noted more seriously that it was still a successful celebration.

WOIO Channel 19 news anchor Danielle Serino and comedian Karen Williams emceed the live auction, which, together with the silent auction, brought in between $13,000 and $15,000.

Williams also provided pre-auction entertainment.

�She was on the edge with some of her act, but she was very funny,� Cline said. �Last year we had a male entertainer, and he was out there. The men appreciated him more than the women did. This year we had a female entertainer and the women appreciated her more than the men did.�

�It is all about balance,� he noted.

Once again, Bob Sferra and his company Culinary Occasions provided the food.

�He did a great job,� Cline said.

Hard final numbers are not yet available, but estimates put the income at over $90,000, and Cline believes that roughly 60 percent of that will go back to the center, which he said is just over two months� worth of operating costs.

�It costs us about $28,000 a month, a little less than a thousand dollars a day� to run the center, he noted, pointing out that it currently does not get any direct government funding. �It�s all private donations, mostly from individuals and some from grants.�

With that financial shot in the arm, Cline is already beginning to muse over the 36th annual Garden Party.

�One of the things I�m looking forward to is next year,� he said. �Next year it may be on a different property, it may be a different caterer, it will be a different entertainer, so the possibilities are endless, although I know it�s a little too soon to start thinking about next year.�

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