The party on Sunday, February 16, celebrated not only our anniversary but also our 26,000th sterilization case in January and the acquisition of the new van for our program.
The van, wrapped with pawprints, our logo, and the message (in Spanish) that sterilized pets live better lives, was parked outside Casa Grande for everyone to admire.
The doors opened at 2 p.m., and people flocked to Suzy Thompson’s tienda of donated items on the ground floor, snapping up bargains. Upstairs, guests were greeted with an amazing display of unusual gifts at Terri Rasmussen’s expanded Tiendita, and many could not resist the temptation to indulge themselves.
When guests settled into the dining area, Susan Pataky and her team of volunteers served them multiple courses of delicious botanas. Those were followed by large platters of homemade desserts prepared by Jacquie Elliott and her volunteers. Our expert bartender Terry Woodruff kept people hydrated as they partied.
Our bilingual master of ceremonies, David Spencer, did an excellent job of keeping the program moving along on schedule.
From 2 to 4 p.m. Alddo Léon and Ale Martínez of Tea for Two entertained the guests with their jazz renditions of art songs in Spanish and English. Then at 4 p.m. Héctor Murillo and his assistants led a salsa lesson for those who were interested in dancing. The dancing caught on, and more and more people joined the fun.
The theme being Carnival, we encouraged people to come in costumes, and many obliged, snaking around the dining area in a conga line as our judges struggled to decide who should receive the prize for best costume.
After much deliberation, they awarded the prize (a bottle of José Cuervo tequila reposada) to Geoff Brown, Soledad Torres, and Karola Torres, who came as Gypsy troubadours.
One of our judges, Vanya Kirova, offered Spanish or Italian language lessons to the runners-up, Paul Marcoux and Janet Reuf, who dressed as Zorro and La Sambra. On the assumption that we’ll invite people to wear costumes again next year, we’ll have several prizes for the best ones.
During his brief remarks, Tom Reavley, president of Amigos, presented two awards. The first, our Founder’s Award, went to Terri Rasmussen for her generous support for Amigos over the past few years. Terri has donated all the profits from her Tiny Tiendita to us. During the fiesta alone, she raised $14,500 pesos (US $715) for our program.
The Volunteer of the Year award went to Vero Mares, who has been a dedicated Amigos volunteer for many years and has participated in most of our sterilization campaigns since our founding. In addition, she has rescued hundreds of abandoned dogs and cats, treating them for injuries and illness and making many of them part of her family. She served on our board of directors until recently.
The fiesta featured eight donated raffle prizes ranging from beautiful art works to whimsical and delicious treats. Our photo booth, with an assortment of masks and other accessories, attracted many guests, who posed for selfies, some of which can be seen here.
We separated our usual silent auction from the fiesta this year. Consequently, the event netted $113,417 pesos (US $5,586), less than what we raised last year. But we’re excited to be planning an online auction later this year that will feature numerous exceptional services and experiences. Because it will be held online, it will be accessible to bidders regardless of their location.
Recording the event for us with photographs and videos was Adam Hiscock, a visitor from Canada. We’ve posted many of his shots on our Facebook page.
We are grateful to all those who made the fiesta a success. Besides our generous donors of merchandise and our enthusiastic attendees, we wish to acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals:
Our hosts, La Casa Grande’s owner, Ricardo Herbert, and his helpful staff, especially Nahely Guerra
Our planning committee: Liz Carranza, Rosemarie Conde, John Denissen, Jann Lee, Maureen Neeley, and Sandra Ward
Publicity organizers: Liz Carranza, John Denissen, Jann Lee, Joslyn Lewis, Jim Sullivan, and Sandra Ward
Susan Pataky and her cooks who prepared the botanas: Mary Beth Caravan, Mema Farin, Siwsan Gimprich, Kim Gorchs, Celise Ingram, Deb Kallen, Joslyn Lewis, Beth Lozano, Michael Philipson, Lewis Stress, Suzy Thompson, and Terry Woodruff
Susan Pataky’s kitchen helpers: Margarita Diostado García and Silvia Hernández
Jacquie Elliott and her team of cookie bakers: Sue Clancy, Cuppy Cake, Jack Elliott, Lorian Epstein, Nayeli Florida, Genie Fuller, Heidi Frumkin, and Janet Reuf
Fawn Potash and her food servers: Emilia Arrellano Carranza, Mario Arrellano Carranza, Don Lang, Milo Smart, Luciano Torres
Terry Woodruff and her assistant Mario Arrellano
Sue Meyers, our decorator par excellence, and her helpers Jann Lee, Joslyn Lewis, and Maureen Neeley
Greeters and ticket sellers: Julie Boles, John Denissen, and Vero Mares
David Spencer, our bilingual Master of Ceremonies
Our Tea for Two musicians Aldo León and Ale Martínez
Héctor Murillo, our salsa teacher, and his assistants Saira Ferreria and Vanesa García Tejada
Suzy Thompson and her tienda volunteers: Mary Beth Canavan, Kimberly Davis, Beth Lozano, Maureen Neeley, Kris Santiago, and Cass Tuck
Terri Rasmussen and her Tiny Tiendita helpers: Dyan Amirault, Brooke Bierbrier, Susan Castelazo, Adam Hiscock, Charles Huckaby, Deb Kallen, Arlene Lang, Marion Pritchard, Cass Tuck, and Terry Woodruff
Raffle planners: Maureen Neeley and Sandra Ward; and raffle ticket sellers Cristóbal Arellano, Ron Mann, and Gabo Ramírez
Raffle prize donors: Alfareria Tradicional Gorky González, Beth Appling John Denissen and Maureen Neeley, Gabriela García, Maureen Neeley and friends, Thomas Eugene Settel, and David Spencer and Amigos de los Animales
Photo booth creators: Jann Lee and Maureen Neeley
Photographer and videographer: Adam Hiscock
Cleanup crew: Hannah Dixon, Kim Gorchs, Don Lang, Joslyn Lewis, Suzy Thompson, and Sandra Ward
Fiscal oversight and tech support: Joslyn Lewis and Jim Sullivan