The Portola Valley Schools Foundation will hold its fundraising gala, “Our Night in New Orleans,” on Saturday May 21, at the Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club.
Guests will walk down “Bourbon Street” with New Orleans-style decor. There will be live jazz music with dancing.
Party-goers can bid on such auction items as a holiday getaway to New York, a summer excursion to Sun Valley, and a week in Aix-en-Provence, France. There are parties available, including a ladies’ dinner at the Woodside firehouse and an evening at Fogarty Winery, and some practical items such as a parking spot at Ormondale elementary school.
(Visit pvschoolsfoundation.org/gala through May 18 for an auction of items that are exclusively online.)
The foundation, which organizes gala events every other year, hopes to raise at least $400,000 from the May 21 event, said Laura Kavanaugh, community outreach chair for the foundation.
Part of the fundraising effort is for Fund-A-Need, a donation-only live auction item that, at each gala, raises money for a specific need identified by the school district. The 2011 Fund-A-Need focuses on “educating the whole child ” through counseling and other programs designed to inspire and enable students to problem-solve and become “resilient, empathetic leaders,” Ms. Kavanaugh said.
Visit pvschoolsfoundation.org/gala for more information.
‘Annie’ in Woodside
Woodside Elementary School will stage the musical “Annie” as its eighth-grade operetta June 1-4. Each student in the graduating class will participate, continuing a school tradition that began in 1958.The production, based on the 1977 hit Broadway musical composed by Charles Strouse with lyrics by Martin Charnin, features Elise Waldow as Annie, Robert Wang as Daddy Warbucks, Nicole Schumacher as Miss Hannigan, and Lindy Garrett as Grace.
It is co-produced by Daran Reinholm, Jill Wang and Katherine Williford, all parents of eighth-graders.
Elena Mori (director) and Ruthie Smith (musical director) have staged the Woodside Elementary operetta since 2002 and 2001, respectively. The team was joined in 2003 by choreographer Patti Michelsen, an eigth-grade parent herself. Karen Arimoto-Peterson is the faculty adviser.
The production will be staged in George Sellman Auditorium, located on the school campus at 3195 Woodside Road.
Tickets go on sale to the public on May 23 at $12 for adults and $10 for kids 10 and under. The June 1 dress rehearsal begins at 6 p.m.; the other performances are at 7 p.m.
For more information, contact the school office at (650) 851-1571, ext. 291.
Polo Club tourney
The Menlo Polo Club will hold its second annual U.S. Polo Association-sanctioned Ladies’ Tournament on Saturday, May 28, at the Menlo Circus Club, 190 Park Lane in Atherton.Teams made up of local and out-of-town amateur and professional women players will compete for trophies.
Proceeds will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, said Lyn Jason Cobb, president of the Menlo Polo Club.
Opening ceremonies start at 11 a.m. and the last match is expected to end by 3 p.m.
Admission is $10 to the public with limited bleacher seating on the west side of the field. Spectators are encouraged to bring comfortable chairs.
Parking is available at nearby Sacred Heart Schools.
Visit menlopoloclub.com for more information.
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