Farragut Elementary School's annual Artworks! fundraiser netted $34,000 for arts programming at the school, making a significant amount over last year’s net revenue. 

Farragut Elementary School is designated as the arts and technology school within the Culver City Unified School District.

Funds raised this year will provide all Farragut students next school year with a continuation and expansion of visual, music and theater arts programming.
 
Unlike years past, the Farragut Fan Club reorganized its annual Artworks! fundraiser into three events:

A free Community Arts Day celebration on March 19, an online auction, and a gala at Royal/T Artspace last Saturday night.

“We really tried to broaden our funding and arts awareness outreach efforts this year by giving the different components of the Artworks! event their own personalities”, says Christine Johnson, Artworks! 2011 Chairperson.

“We had a spectacular group of volunteer parents blazing a new trail for Artworks! this year, and we received a positive response from Farragut families about the different experiences we offered to them”, Ms. Johnson said.

“We had to think of new ways to bring in new donors since we cannot keep depending on parents to pay for everything. A benefit of the online auction was that we had bidders from as far away as Florida, Connecticut and Hawaii helping us raise money for our school.”
 
The culmination of the Artworks! fundraising efforts was the Gala at Royal/T — a parents’ night out with a silent and live auction, a delicious buffet dinner with amazing desserts and dancing. 

[img]1153|exact|Janice Pober of Sony Pictures is second from left with husband  Brian Pober, and School District arts advocate Inez Bush with her husband Bill Bush, publisher of Artweek.la||no_popup[/img]

Among the nearly 200 guests were Janice Pober, Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Social Responsibility for Sony Pictures Entertainment, Patti Jaffe, Superintendent of CCUSD, Principal Eileen Carroll, Vice Mayor Mehaul O'Leary and Council member/ Farragut parent Scott Malsin. 

Also in attendance were Martha and Sol Sigall, longtime Culver City residents and Farragut supporters.

A highlight of the evening was the celebration of Mrs. Sigall's 94th birthday.  She is a former Warner Bros. cel animator.  She donated one of her priceless original Porky Pig cels for the auction. 

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Master of Ceremonies for the evening was former Farragut parent  Mike King of The Partners Trust. Susan Hancock of Royal/T donated the space for the event, Joxer Daly's donated the alcoholic beverages, Culver City Flower Shop donated flowers, and numerous bakeries including Lonzo's and Semi Sweet Bakery supplied baked goods.

Said Ms. Johnson: “A huge thank you goes out to all the generous families and businesses in the community that supported Artworks! this year especially our sponsors including Royal/T Artspace, Joxer Daly's, Culver Center Flower Shop, Sony Pictures Entertainment, UPS Store in Raintree Plaza, El Rincon Criollo Restaurant, Indigo Payments, Netwood Communications, Lonzo's Bakery, Jackson Market and Deli, Fast Signs of Culver City, Martin Feinberg and Walters Electric.
 
Other sponsors included John and Krista Trautman, Post Haste Sound, Collectors Editions, High Technology Video, Roundabout Entertainment, the Haase family, Jeff Caudill and Trailer Park, Mike Fratantuno and Transenders, Semi-Sweet Bakery, Sony Pictures Entertainment Sound Production, Deluxe Labratories, Rappaport Dermatology and SKN Beverly Hills, Point 360, and Vince Capa and Sara Lee Co.

For more information, Ms. Johnson may be contacted at bychristinej@gmail.com.