Opening Night Benefit Reception at Mountain Laurel Center Will Honor Senator Charles D. Lemmond
on Saturday, June 16
Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Kick Off the Center’s 2007 Season
BUSHKILL, PA -- The Opening Night Benefit Reception at the Mountain Laurel Center for the Performing Arts, on Saturday, June 16 at 6 p.m., will pay tribute to the man who tirelessly championed the creation of the center and its early years of existence, The Hon. Charles D. Lemmond, retired Pennsylvania state senator for the 20th District. The evening will also pay homage to the achievements of jazz trumpet great Wynton Marsalis. Following the reception at 8 p.m. "Congo Square," featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Yacub Addy and Odadaa!, kicks off the Mountain Laurel Center’s 2007 Summer Season in the Tom Ridge Pavilion.
“We are launching the finest season of performances in the center’s history, and I can’t think of a better way to honor Senator Lemmond than to begin on such a high note,” said Richard T. Bryant, President and CEO of the Mountain Laurel Center. “As a point of interest, we hear that Senator Lemmond played the trumpet when he attended Harvard, so honoring him on the same evening we host trumpeter Wynton Marsalis seems particularly fitting – though he will probably demur from any duets!”
Senator Lisa Baker, Lemmond’s successor in representing Pennsylvania’s 20th District, is co-chairing the Opening Night Benefit Reception along with Rosemary Driebe Olofsson of Stroudsburg, and Barbara J. Buchanan of Milford.
“I am delighted to join in this event honoring my friend and mentor, Senator Charles Lemmond,” said Senator Baker. “He is a great advocate for the Mountain Laurel Center and has been a leader in ensuring that the Center’s full potential is realized. I am pleased to join in this event as the Center embarks on its best season ever and honors a man who has been a true and faithful public servant for Pike County and all of Northeast Pennsylvania.”
Tickets to the Opening Night Reception at the Mountain Laurel Center range from $40 per person (reception only) to $85 per person ($150 per couple; reception plus concert), with all proceeds going to support the center and its programs. The gala will feature a tented buffet dinner outside the theater at the Mountain Laurel Center, with all guests receiving reserved seating for Marsalis’ concert. Reception and Performance tickets can be purchased through TicketMaster; by phone: 570.693.4100; online at mountainlaurelcenter.com; or at the Box Office. Benefit reception tickets are selling fast and subject to availability.
For additional information, the public can call (570) 426-2080 or visit mountainlaurelcenter.com.
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Contact:
CJ McKenna
Development Manager
Direct: 570.426.2080 x5007
Email: info@mlcpa.org
Mountain Laurel Center for the Performing Arts
Bushkill Falls Road P.O. Box 1233
Bushkill, PA 18324
Administration: 570.426.2080
Fax: 570.588.5211
mountainlaurelcenter.com