Late February is the time of year when many Northern Hemisphere dwellers like to say that spring is right around the corner. For those of us living west of the Cascades here in the Pacific Northwest, it feels like spring has already arrived, with the unusually warm temperatures we’ve been experiencing. The other day, my thermometer registered sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit!
Real spring is not far behind: The vernal equinox, which is considered to be the first official day of spring, is only a month away. Our 2015 Spring Fundraising Gala is also fast approaching; it’ll take place just seven weeks from today.
Putting the gala together requires a lot of preparation, and the team at NPI has been hard at work getting everything ready for a great evening, including the Dessert Dash. That’s perhaps the most fun part of the event.
During the Dessert Dash, tables compete for the opportunity to visit our desserts table first, which is filled with delicious sweets.
Last year, the desserts table included a rhubarb pie baked by First Lady Trudi Inslee (whose pies are quite renowned!), several delightful confectioneries made by Montlake Mousse, and an array of home-baked treats.
There was something for everyone to enjoy — and there will be again this year, too.
We will also be adding individual servings of gluten free desserts, so that table runners can bring back a tasty treat for anyone at their table with a gluten or wheat sensitivity. (The dinner buffet will also have vegetarian options.)
As we were working on preparations for the Dessert Dash, we got to thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if the tables had names this year?
After all, number systems can get boring.
So we’ve decided to give our tables names this year. Every one of our tables will honor a great American progressive who has worked to make this country a better place. Our initial list of progressive activist leaders consists of six men and six women, including men and women of color.
During their lives, these progressives worked on a diverse range of noble causes, from environmental protection to civil rights to economic justice.
We are proud to honor them. Here they are!
- Martin Luther King, Jr.: A man who needs no introduction to any of us. MLK is one of the greatest civil rights leaders in human history.
- César Chávez: Cofounder of the National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers). Perhaps the country’s best known Latino civil rights activist, he helped improve working conditions for immigrant laborers.
- Harvey Milk: A pioneer for LGBT rights, Harvey Milk was the first openly gay American elected to public office in the United States (the San Francisco Board of Supervisors). He is known for his Hope Speech.
- John Muir: Founder of the Sierra Club and an ardent conservationist. His writings and activism continue to inspire us to protect our wild and majestic places more than a hundred years following his death.
- Scott White: A former co-chair of the King County Democratic Legislative Action Committee, state representative, and state senator who died far too young. A staunch advocate for transit, Scott represented the best of us and was one of the first legislators to sponsor NPI’s Spring Fundraising Gala.
- Warren Magnuson: Maggie, as he was nicknamed, served three decades in the U.S. Senate, representing Washington State. His legacy includes the Magnuson Amendment, which protects Puget Sound from oil supertankers, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
- Rachel Carson: Author of the classic book Silent Spring and considered by many to be the mother of the modern environmental movement. Her work showed Americans that pollution kills.
- Rosa Parks: Widely acknowledged as the First Lady of Civil Rights, Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus in 1955 was a defining moment in the effort to desegregate America.
- Ruth Fisher: A legendary Democratic state legislator who believed in multimodal transportation and authored the legislation that created the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit). Without Ruth Fisher, there would be no Sound Transit and no Link light rail system.
- Lynn Allen: One of NPI’s founding board members, who we tragically lost to ovarian cancer four years ago. A tireless champion for improving the well-being of our region’s rural communities.
- Margaret Sanger: The creator of the organization that eventually became Planned Parenthood, and a courageous advocate of access to contraceptives for pregnancy prevention.
- Ida B. Wells: A gifted investigative journalist and early women’s rights leader who documented lynchings during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
We will be announcing our first gala speaker next week. Until then, you can buy a ticket at our special early-bird rates. There are three ticket rates:
- Individual ($70, temporarily discounted to $55; admits one person.)
- Household ($100, temporarily discounted to $85; admits an entire family.)
- Living Lightly ($25, temporarily discounted to $20; this rate is for students and activists on limited incomes.)
Buy a ticket to the gala
$85 (early-bird discount)
$55 (early-bird discount)
$20 (early-bird discount)
Click above to buy a ticket using a credit card.
Your payment will be securely processed by Authorize.Net, which is a division of Visa, and follows Visa’s recommended best practices for safeguarding credit card information. Your credit card details will be protected by best available encryption.
If you’d rather not use a credit card, simply mail a check for $20, $55, or $85 to:
Northwest Progressive Institute
PO Box 264
Redmond, WA 98073–0264
Put “Gala” on the memo line. We’ll send you a confirmation.
We do offer complimentary tickets for NPI members who are willing to donate labor to the event. If you wish to volunteer, contact us and let us know.
We hope to see you on April 10th!
One Comment
This sounds like it will be a really fun event, wish I could be there!