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Last year’s tent featured dreamy blue and silver decor.



If you step inside the enormous tent on the Bert C. Williams Mall (the lawn in front of Memorial Hall) this weekend, you might forget you’re on the Chapman campus and not in an opulent ballroom or a five-star restaurant.
Alex Popescu
,
(manager, Chapman Fund)
likened it to stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia.

The
Special Events
and
External Relations
teams have truly pulled out all the stops for the 34th annual American Celebration, which is taking place on campus this weekend, November 6 and 7. Chapman’s largest fundraising event, American Celebration has raised more than $20 million since its inception to provide scholarships to Chapman’s best and most deserving students. In fact, last year American Celebration brought in a record-breaking $2.6 million for scholarships.
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A highlight of the Gala every year is a special performance by President Doti and philanthropist and President’s Cabinet member Julianne Argyros.



The hallmark of American Celebration is a spectacular Broadway-style revue provided by a cast of more than 100 singing and dancing students from the College of Performing Arts, accompanied by a live orchestra. On Opening Night (Friday), guests head to the tent after the show to mix and mingle over sweet treats at our dessert reception. Opening Night also features a pre-show wine and cheese reception for Chapman parents, hosted by the Parents Ambassador Council.

On Saturday, we’ll welcome hundreds of guests donning their finest black-tie attire for a lavish evening of entertainment, dinner and dancing at the American Celebration Gala. Following the performance in Memorial Hall (and a pre-show cocktail reception), guests will make their way to the tent for a sumptuous dinner. The festivities will continue late into the evening with dancing and live music.

This weekend marks the culmination of a year’s worth of planning and organizing this large-scale soiree. Who else could transform an unassuming patch of grass into an extraordinary and opulent venue for dinner and dancing but the creative minds on our
Special Events
and
External Relations
teams?

Congratulations to
Guy Hinrichs
(
director, special events
),
Rachael Samimi
(
manager, special events
),
Taylor Underwood 
(
coordinator, special events
),
Tami Thompson
(
director, external relations
),
Tianna Haradon 
(
manger, external relations
),  
Rachael Daniels
(
development associate, external relations
),
Joanne Jurczyk
(manager, donor relations)
and all those who have contributed to what is sure to be another smashing success!