Photo courtesy of Diana Knight.
Nancy Natter, left, and Joe and Bonnie Rives were among guests at the 2016 Hydrangeas Under the Stars fundraiser at Aldridge Gardens.
The 15th annual Hydrangeas Under the Stars fundraiser at Aldridge Gardens is just around the corner, but tickets already have sold out.
This year’s event, scheduled for June 10, was sold out by mid-April, Aldridge CEO Tynette Lynch said. “We’ve kind of established it as an event people want to be at,” Lynch said.
The fundraiser includes a reception and silent auction under the pavilion at Aldridge and a dinner and live auction under a large tent. The tent holds about 26 tables, with eight seats at each table, for 208 total seats.
“We can’t add any more tables,” Lynch said. “We just don’t have any more space to do it.”
Hydrangeas Under the Stars is the largest fundraiser for the gardens each year. Last year’s event netted about $50,000 for the gardens, which has an annual budget of about $1 million, Lynch said.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and his wife, Frances, are this year’s hosts. John Bentley, president of the Aldridge board of directors, and Lynch will serve as emcees, and Hoover Councilman John Lyda is scheduled to be the live auctioneer.
The live auction will have about 10 items, including a seven-day stay at a condominium at Perdido Beach and a weekend stay at Orange Beach, Lynch said. The silent auction will include a lot of packages, including artwork, wine baskets, a dinner for 10 people under the pavilion at Aldridge catered by Savoie, and stays at hotels such as the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa, Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel and Embassy Suites Birmingham, she said.
The Culinary Institute at Jefferson State Community College is catering the dinner, and one of the culinary students will receive a $1,000 scholarship at the event, Lynch said.
For more information, visit aldridgegardens.com.
