The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center’s Bella Vida ballroom was possibly the shiniest it’s ever been Saturday.
The Senior Center’s 50th anniversary Golden Gala, a reimagined version of its annual Celebrity Waiter fundraiser, let attendees interpret the year’s theme “all that glitters is gold,” and the result — regardless of read — was dozens of high-wattage costumes and table ornaments paying tribute to the center’s most serious anniversary yet.
Jackie Hartmann, chair of this year’s Golden Gala and treasurer of the SCV Senior Center board, was the brains behind the fundraiser’s rebranding as the “Golden Gala,” as well as the theme’s author.
“Everyone did really, really well with it, and (had) different plays on the gold theme,” Hartmann said. “From … (Gold Medal) Flour and baking to Willy Wonka to gold diggers and solid gold. It’s great.”
That Gold Medal Flour costume was worn by SCV Senior Center board President Bonnie Teaford, who said she’d gotten the idea for the chef hat and apron bearing the trademark Gold Medal Flour medallion while grocery shopping the week before.
“I was in the grocery store last week thinking … ‘I don’t have a theme for the Golden Gala.’ And I walked down the flour aisle and I saw Gold Medal Flour, and bingo. So our table is very fun, (we have) cooking implements and cookbooks.”
This year’s gala was the first in which the SCV Senior Center implemented a silent auction, with collector’s items lined up on tables in the front lobby, alongside a live auction, Teaford said. They also had a ring light-style photo station, along with an artificial intelligence photo generator, just outside the ballroom.
Proceeds from the event go to the variety of services the center provides seniors, from meals to skills and physical exercise classes — including a “wild” Zumba class, Teaford said — and as a nonprofit, every bit of revenue helps, she said.
“We’ve never done (a silent auction), as far as I know, so we’ll see how that goes,” Teaford said. “Every year, (there’s) creative ideas, and ‘What can we do different? What should we keep the same?’ I love that.”
And while a 50-year anniversary is about as special as an anniversary can get, at least for another 50, the process for preparing each year’s event is a pretty streamlined process.
“It’s always the same. There’s incredible staff here. Gina Boersma kind of runs our front of house … and she does such an amazing job of doing events,” Teaford said. “She comes up with these gorgeous draperies and things like that.”
One thing that can’t be counted on each year is the vibes in the room once the festivities begin.
“Just walking into that room and seeing what it looked like in (there), the amount of big, juicy good vibes that you feel (from) people supporting such an important organization, I’m thrilled,” Teaford said.
