Scottsdale Arts Blooms at Annual ‘ARTrageous Gala’
The Event: Bloom: The ARTrageous Gala
The Cause: Scottsdale Arts
Event Date: April 1, 2023
Location: Scottsdale Civic Center
Title Sponsor: Billie Jo Herberger
Honorees: Dorothy Lincoln-Smith, Herberger Award for the Arts | Oskar Knoblauch, Lifetime Award for Service | SRP, Corporate Trailblazer Award
Entertainment: Music, Dance and Performance Art by Quixotic | Finale by Walter Productions
Exhibition Art: Lost by Amanda Parer
Emcee: Dr. Gerd Wuestemann
Auctioneer: Brett Higgins
Caterer: Fabulous Food
Notable Moments: Guests enjoyed the stunning new open-air settings at Scottsdale Arts as performance artists and large-scale, botanical art installations illuminated the lawn. The program theme was supporting and expanding the arts. The tone and messages from the award recipients focused on kindness, peace and tolerance. Honoree Oskar Knoblauch, at age 97, gave a heartfelt statement of support for the arts. From his experience in a Nazi-controlled Ghetto in Krakow, Poland and in Nazi labor camps, he presented this powerful message: “Hate can be neutralized by mutual respect.” Honoree Dorothy Lincoln-Smith, the renowned concert vocalist and arts innovator, capped her eloquent and joyful speech with: “Don’t worry, be happy,” stating, “Don’t let anger define you.” The lotus fireworks were the perfect finale to an evening in bloom.
Photos courtesy of Chris Loomis and David Blakeman
