Good News Friday!

The 12th annual Imagine! Celebration on Friday, January 25, 2013 will have a special focus this year, as it launches a year-long salute to Imagine!’s 50th year. In 1963, when Beatlemania was in full swing, popular films were “Lawrence of Arabia” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and the average cost of a gallon of gas was 29 cents, a group of parents came together to design an alternative to the standard practice of sending children with developmental disabilities away to live in institutions. And on August 6, 1963, Imagine! (known by several different names in the interim) became the first organization in the state dedicated to such a purpose.

The Imagine! Celebration has set its goal at $250,000 -- $50,000 for each of Imagine!’s five decades. Participants in Heads and Tails will pay $50 for the opportunity to win a $500 gift certificate from a special local restaurant, and the goal of the Special Appeal will be $50,000.

A great lineup of live auction items will lead the way to achieving the overall goal. New this year is a delicious catered farm table dinner for up to 12 people in September 2013, hosted by Imagine! Foundation president Sandy Bracken and his wife Sally at their lovely home. Guests will enjoy a delectable outdoor dining experience while gazing across open fields to a breathtaking view of the sun setting behind the Continental Divide. This year’s auction will also feature the reappearance of some truly wonderful favorites! Picture a week in a private home in beautiful Ouray, the “Switzerland of America,” compliments of Jay and Kathy Montgomery, or a family reunion at the exquisite Durango mountain home of Don Sullivan and Paige Lawrence. If you wish to travel a bit farther afield, George Karakehian, who will emcee the Celebration, and his wife Kristin will once again donate a week at their lovely Cape Cod home. A highlight of the live auction will again be a week at the gorgeous Greek island villa of the Palmos Family, and we are delighted to be able to include the return of Anahid Katchian’s exotic Mediterranean Feast. Online auction bidding will begin on January 9.

This year’s event will again be held at the Best Western Plus Plaza Conference Center in Longmont. More information about sponsors, auction items, and all of the festivities is available on the Imagine! website.

Purchase tickets and tables online by clicking here.   

Reserve now, and we’ll look forward to seeing you on January 25!