Southampton Arts Center to Host SummerFest Benefit & Culinary Arts Festival

Southampton Arts Center has announced the return of SummerFest on Thursday, September 1 at 6 PM.

The benefit and culinary arts festival, honoring Helena and Rob Vahradian with the 2022 Champion of the Arts Award, will be SAC's first full-scale benefit since 2019. This critical SAC fundraising initiative is responsible for generating 1/3 of SAC's annual contributed income - allowing SAC to continue our year-round world class programming and serve as a critical economic driver of our beloved community. Tickets begin at $1,000 per person, with tables beginning at $10,000. For more information, please visit www.southamptonartscenter.org/summerfest.

Broadway star Jessica Vosk (Elphaba in Wicked) will perform a medley of songs for over 350 guests, with dinner and dancing until the morning hours. Celebrated East End restaurants will prepare signature dishes for a real taste of the Hamptons! Stroll through the galleries experience SAC's current exhibition, FIGURES TRANSFORMED, curated by Christina Mossaides Strassfield. Serving as the backdrop for SummerFest, guests can explore the historic grounds of 25 Jobs Lane, with various works on view by Deborah Buck, Hal Buckner, and Strong-Cuevas.

"We're thrilled for the return of SummerFest to Southampton Arts Center!" shares SAC founding co-chair Simone Levinson. "We'll celebrate being back together and honor our longtime friends Helena and Rob Vahradian with the Champion of the Arts Award. Their incredible support allows us to advance our mission of community building through the arts. It will be a fantastic evening of delicious food, art, and community. We're also excited to introduce our first SummerFest AfterDark party. Andrew Warren and the young committee putting this party together have gone all out to ensure we'll be dancing into the early morning!"

Committee members will be dressed in Bulgari jewelry for the event, and guests may also peruse the Bulgari vitrines in the seating area while enjoying sweet treats from their dessert cart.

Honorees Helena and Rob Vahradian will be joined by event chairs Sylvia Hemingway, Simone and David Levinson, Nicole and Allen Salmasi, and Aline and Tom Shapiro, as well as distinguished supporters, including Zac Posen and Harrison Ball, Stacey Bronfman, Henry Buhl, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, April Gornik, Jamee and Peter Gregory, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Margie and Michael Loeb, Christine and Richard Mack, Peter Marino, Margo and James Nederlander, Daniel Nir, John Paulson, Susan Rockefeller, The Honorable Wilbur and Hilary Ross, Kara Ross, Chuck Scarborough, and more.

Special thanks to SummerFest sponsors Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bulgari, GTIS Partners, KPMG, and Shearman & Sterling. Additional thanks to Fiduciary Trust International, and Purist. Dinner will be served by Acquolina.

Following SummerFest will be SAC's first annual SummerFest After Dark party. Hosted by Alexander Hankin, Danielle Naftali, Makenzie Moon Phelan, and Andrew Warren, with event co-chairs Emira D'Spain, Ivy Getty, Connor Kennedy, Paige Lorenze, Gaia Matisse, Julia Moshy, Grace Murdoch, Noor Pahlavi, Ryan Thomas Roth, Ming Lee Simmons, and Harrison Vail, as well as special host committee members Margaret Abrams, Jack Brinkley-Cook, Sophie Elgort, Greer Grammer, Ty Gaskins, Christie Grimm, Morgan Halberg, Hayley Hasselhoff, Jason Ikeler, Serena Kerrigan, Di Mondo, Claudia Oshrey and Ben Soffer, and Abby Silverman. DJ's Zeke Thomas and Timo Weiland will perform. Guests will enjoy drinks, bites, and dancing from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sponsored by Bulgari will dress the committee in jewelry and share sweet treats from their dessert cart; other sponsors include Whispering Angel, Baked by Melissa, 21 Seeds Tequila, and Pearl Street Caviar. Tickets are $250 and may be purchased at http://www.southamptonartscenter.org.

SAC continues to follow all New York State and CDC guidelines for all programs and events. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test is required for all indoor events.

Select Southampton Arts Center programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. FIGURES TRANSFORMED is presented by Sylvia Hemingway and Lana Jokel, with media partners Purist and WLIW-FM. FILM @ SAC is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens. Wellness @ SAC media partner is The Purist. ECO Programs at SAC are made possible by Dorothy & Michael Reilly. Financial Literacy Partner: J.P. Morgan Private Bank. General operating support is provided by Bank of America. The SAC Summer Stage 2022 is sponsored by Primary Care and Reproductive Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

Southampton Arts Center is committed to community building through the arts. We present and produce inspiring, inclusive, socially and regionally relevant programs across all disciplines - welcoming, connecting, and collaborating with the diverse members of New York's East End community and beyond. SAC is a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information about Southampton Arts Center, located at 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, New York 11968, visit southamptonartscenter.org or call 631.283.0967.

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