I was amused when I first read this, because this is exactly how the nonprofit I worked for did its annual gala every year in New York City in the 1990s. Pretty much down to the order of events. 🤣

I surely did love to go to those galas!

First, we were an HIV/AIDS service agency, so we didn't spend a lot of time going out dancing, as it were. The work we did was hard and often hard to take, as necessary as it was.

So every year when the board organized the gala event, we had a reason to dress to the nines and dance the night away in a glittery sort of fantasy world.

Also, although we staff and our clients attended at no cost, there is something really special about knowing that the hundreds of people who were there had paid from a few hundred dollars each to $1,000 each to attend. There's nothing like that kind of money to tell you you're among people who really care.

And the money they lavished on the auctions! Talk about special!

I'm glad to hear about your experiences, and that dance sounds like something super special too.