LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Sundance 98: One Last Word |
by Murray Archibald |
SUNDANCE 98 RAISED $120,000!!! If anyone had told me eleven years ago that one day SUNDANCE would raise $120,000 in a single summer weekend, Im sure I would have scoffed and cried, "impossible!" How, I wonder, did we move from a simple little party to the extravagant event that it has become? The answer, I think, is as simple as that first event seems to me now. Over the years SUNDANCE has taken on a life of its own, and its happened because so many people on so many different levels are involved. This year there were over 350 hosts, supporters and sponsors. In the auction there were 350 items donated by numerous businesses and individuals. Over 50 volunteers worked on all aspects, from picking up auction items to decorating the room. Over 1,200 tickets were sold to the auction and 1,500 to the dance. SUNDANCE is one of those times when we come together as a community. We come together to work and we come together to play. We come together to share our resources and to give of ourselvesour time, our money, our talents, our giftsand we come together to dance and to laugh and to wave our fans and twirl with our arms in the air. It is our end of the summer celebration and it is also the way we care for our community through the cold winter months. Every year I am touched all over again by the incredible efforts of each and every person who pitches in to make SUNDANCE work. Every year I say thisbut every year I am dazzled by the people who show up ready to do whatever it is that needs to be done. It feels like a familya SUNDANCE familyand I am delighted to be a part of it. Looking back over the years I realize that each SUNDANCE has a few momentssometimes brilliant, sometimes hystericalthat help me to recall that particular year. This year will always be the year of the great bid sheet blunder. All was well until about 11:30 a.m. on the day of the auction when the graphics crew discovered that a computer mistake had fed a whole batch of incorrect information into our, until then, well moving assembly line. And, how can I ever forget discoveringjust as the auction night was endingtwo inebriated young men plucking stems from one of the enormous flower arrangements created by Gabby Beel and his crew. Alas, it was too late to save, and the next morning I was forced to call in a 911 floral emergency to which Gabby quickly responded by sending his best floral medic. Of course this will always be the year of Jackie O.as the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis back drop from Sothebys auction of her estate brought a record $4,100 in the live auction. And finally, at the dance, DJ Mark Thomas kept the packed house movinginspired, Im sure, by the enormous "fan club" present for the evening. SUNDANCE is a lot of things to a great many people. Some people are just passing through Rehoboth for the first time and discover a big party. Some just like to dance. Others come for the fun of the auction. Many of you come because its a good cause, or for the tradition and the friendships that have grown out of it over the years. For me it is, as has been said many times before, my anniversary party. And as Steve Elkins and I celebrate our twentieth year together, I am amazed all over again at the number of greetings from well-wishers. I am also reminded of what commitment meanscommitment to relationships, to friends, to a cause, to Life. This year, the SUNDANCE theme was RAINBOW XI: Colors of Life. While we were working on, and participating in, the process of SUNDANCE, in the back of my mind I was aware of the full spectrum that makes up the colors of our lives. The human experience is joy and pain all wrapped up in the same package. Even as we mourn the loss of countless friends and family members to AIDS, we rejoice in the progress being made to end itand we rejoice in the life of which we are a part. For me SUNDANCE is a part of that rejoicingand judging from the response, I think it is for a great many others as well. SUNDANCE has become an important part of my life and I thank each and every one of you for your participation and support. And by the way, its never to early to start thinking about SUNDANCE 99! |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 8, No. 13, September 18, 1998. |