WHAT YOU CAN DO - The WingDing
Click here for a slideshow of the 2010 event.
Calling the Grand Canyon guiding community - young and old, far and wide! Your presence is requested at the 9th Annual WF WingDing on February 19, 2011 at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff! MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!
What's the WingDing? It's a party! A fundraiser! A celebration of the GC river community!
This year's event was held on Saturday February 20, 2010
6-11 PM
Coconino Center for the Arts
2300 N. Ft. Valley Road
(Hwy 180 towards Grand Canyon)
Flagstaff, AZ86001
The inspiration for the WingDing came from our desire to honor the deep connection of love members of the GC river community feel for one another. A while back, we asked ourselves the question: why do we wait for a memorial service - or a meeting on some political issue – to bring us together? Why not create a specific event to celebrate being alive and being members of this amazing community? And we could use the event as an opportunity to showcase our artists' works - and raise some money for our outreach programs like the Kenton Grua Memorial Scholarships, the March Health Fair, and the mental and physical health programs!
Well, that was the idea – and the first WingDing, held in February 2003, was so much fun, we do it every year! There is a sit down dinner, live music, dancing, a live auction, silent auction, raffle and door prizes. The amazing Martha Clark caters the affair. We will ask for a dinner donation and there will be a cash bar, but otherwise - it's free
This year we had another Whale of a Night, the eighth annual, fun-filled rendezvous of the Grand Canyon River family. The WingDing was held on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff. Guides came from around the West to be part of the celebration! About 350 of us bid on 160 auction items - the proceeds from which will go to support the well-being of the GC guiding community. To name only a few responsible for the evening's success, we say hats off to Martha Clark for another sumptuous dinner, to Jessie Pope for organizing the outstanding music, to Erika Andersson and Bianca Buach for taking charge of the front room, to Brian Dierker and Nate Avery our kick-ass auctioneers, to Adam Bringhurst for dialing in the bar, and to Jeri Ledbetter for her hard work behind the scenes. We have many loyal friends who helped setup, clean up, bake desserts, run the auction, the beverage table, the front table and the meet/greet team. We couldn't pull it off without alot of help from everyone. As the old Beatles' song goes, "We get by with a little help from our friends."
2010 WingDing Donors and Sponsors
The Whale Foundation Board of Directors expresses its profound appreciation and gratitude to thedonors and sponsors of the Annual WingDing. Their generous support guarantees the success of this fund raising event to directly benefit and promote the physical and mental well being of the Grand Canyon river guiding community. Thank you all sincerely.
