Bring Back the Beach Lights Up the Night

June 10, 2016 — A bit of June gloom couldn’t put a damper on our annual “Bring Back the Beach” fundraising gala, held on the sands of the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica.

A night at our annual party is like a day at the beach, with an amazing cross-section of L.A. gathering to celebrate our region’s greatest natural resource. From Eastside artists to Westside surfers, we’ve got it covered.

We welcomed nearly 1,000 guests, including our usual lively mix of celebs (new HTB fans Andie MacDowell and Perrey Reeves), politicos (Santa Monica Mayor Tony Vazquez and State Sen. Ben Allen), and everyday ocean lovers (you and me!).

Some come for the power schmoozing, others for the Bay Breeze (our take on the classic cocktail), others for the live music (local legends Venice had the boogie-down crowd – led by HTB board chair Don Kinsey and crew — literally begging for more when sound restrictions forced us to close). But all come to support our 31 years of work, which we deeply appreciate.

One of our favorite moments: seeing longtime board member and actress Amy Smart catching up and taking selfies with her “Varsity Blues” co-star Ali Larter. Ali recently reconnected with Heal the Bay, and just packed the house at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium for a fun Saturday morning book reading for kids.

Honorees included HTB board member Executive Vice President with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, Paul Stimpfl, representing the financial services company and longtime supporter of our education efforts at the Aquarium, as well as environmental attorney Felicia Marcus, a founding force of Heal the Bay and current chair of the state’s Water Resources Control Board.

But the loudest cheers seemed to be reserved for our final honoree of the night – the L.A. County Lifeguards. A division of the L.A. County Fire Department, the guards rescue more than 15,000 people who find themselves in trouble in the surf each year.

Given some of the night’s pyrotechnic entertainment, we felt a little relieved to see all the Fire Department brass seated in the front rows. A group of sinewy acrobats from Aerial Culture Inc. tossed blazing batons, ate fire and generally scared the heck out of HTB president Alix Hobbs. Think Cirque du Soleil with flame-throwers.

We met all our fundraising goals for the night, with guests contributing nearly a quarter of our annual operating budget in a single night. A special thanks to HTB board member and Jonathan Beach Club GM Ernie Dunn, who has facilitated our gala for the seventh straight year, and Events By Fabulous, who produced the event.

We’re taking a day off today, but soon enough we’ll be planning for next year’s party. See you on the sand soon. Please enjoy the Bay this summer!

Check out the great photos on our flickr album!

Got killer party pics? Share them on social media and tag @healthebay and #bringbackthebeach!

Photos (top row) by: Jason Kempin for Getty Images

Photos (bottom row, from left) by: Nicola Buck, Nick Colin, David Young-Wolff