Scroll Down here to learn more about our 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner (and Reunion!)📜⬇️
Tales from the Caravan:
The 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner
Saturday, October 22, 6pm - 9:30pm*, at the Ashokan Center, Olive Bridge, NY.
Join all the generations of The Vanaver Caravan community as we gather for an evening of good food, good drink, good music, and dancing merriment. Journey back through the decades to experience the highlights, recreations of the best dances, the most wonderful adventures, and good friends who have brought The Vanaver Caravan to life for half a century.
GUEST OF HONOR:
Natalie Merchant
Long-standing friend of the Caravan, Natalie Merchant, will be joining us for the evening to honor Bill & Livia with an award for their lifetime of service and achievements in humanitarian work and peace advocacy through the arts.
Tickets
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Tickets 〰️
WHAT’S IN YOUR GALA TICKET?
Gala tickets are $150, and include a delicious buffet dinner, 1 drink, a goodie bag of Caravan merchandise, and a performance of live music, dance, film, stories, and (as is the Caravan standard) audience participation.
$100 of your ticket may be considered a tax deductible donation, and goes towards both our Scholarship Fund and towards the capital campaign to build the Caravan Center, our year-round seasonal community arts center at Stone Mountain Farm.
The Caravan's Scholarship Fund
This year, we were able to provide scholarships to more than 25 students, with six full scholarships to our summer programs that included food and housing. Many of our scholarship students have faced unfathomable hardships and have found sustained joy, friendship, and solace in our arts programs. Learn more.
Capital Campaign to Build the Caravan Center
The next big things for the Caravan. Coming 2025, the Caravan Center will be our home base: a four season dance studio and a community arts center at Stone Mountain Farm, in collaboration with 5th Wall Studio, Center for Symbolic Studios. New Paltz, NY.
Evening Schedule At-a-Glance
(Subject to change)
4:00 PM (Optional) - Ashokan Grounds open to all Gala guests. Check in to the Gala early to enjoy the beautiful scenery before dinner.
6:00 PM - Dinner service +1 drink (Indoor & Outdoor seating available)
7:00 PM - Dessert table, cash bar service, toasts and tales
8:00 PM - 50th Anniversary Retrospective begins in the Performance Hall
Caravan Greatest Hits in Dance & Music, Special Guest Stories, Hudsy.TV documentary & Awards Ceremony
*9:30 - 11:30 (Optional) - Late night, informal campfire jam session
Venue & Accommodations
We are THRILLED to announce that the 50th Anniversary Gala will now be held at the Ashokan Center in Olive Bridge, NY.
This beautiful center for music and dance has been generously held for the weekend by our friends, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason.
Fun Fact: Jay performed in The Vanaver Caravan’s first company of musicians!
For those of you coming from out of town, the Ashokan Center has affordable accommodations on-site.
Lodging options include:
private rooms with private bathrooms
dorm-style bunkhouses with shared bathrooms, and campsites.
Guests must bring their own linens or sleeping bag, a pillowcase, a light blanket, towels and toiletries.
Pillows are provided. Light quilts are provided in private rooms. Linens are an option for rental by retreat guests.
Camping guests have access to our new bathhouse and must bring all their own camping gear. Ashokan does not provide RV hookups.
For overnight accommodations, please email Lisa Hurley at lisa.hurley@ashokancenter.org
Alumni & Friends, Contribute a Story 📜
Share a Caravan Tale for the Gala Program
We are compiling wild tour stories, meaningful memories, funny anecdotes, essays and songs for the 50th Anniversary program. Add your voice to the mix!
Learn About 50th Anniversary Sponsorship
Join the many wonderful local organizations and businesses who support the mission and actions of The Vanaver Caravan by becoming a sponsor today.
Types of Sponsorship:
Year-round business sponsorship
Purchase Ad Space in our program
In-kind donations of goods, gifts, and services for the Gala’s silent auction, raffle, and gift-bags
A MESSAGE FROM LIVIA & THE CARAVAN TEAM:
It's hard for me to believe it was half a century ago that we did our first concert at Washington Square Methodist Church in the West Village. That show, "Coming Together Festival of Dance & Music" became the template for so much of the work we do and was the impetus to found The Vanaver Caravan.
"Tales From the Caravan" will be a dinner theater event - featuring songs, dances, stories and film from our past and present: an evening full of 'Best-Ofs', Bill jokes, banjos, and beloved friends. It's been a hard few years and, in uncertain times like these, one sure way I find solace is in knowing that the Caravan community we have built together, still holds a steady space for people to experience joy, connection, and love.
So, I hope that you will come home to your Caravan this October, for a once-in-a-lifetime, high-spirited reunion of all the incredible people who have helped nourish and uphold our community these many years. It is an evening for Bill and myself to give gratitude to the artists, innovators, administrators, teachers, and enthusiasts with whom we have had the incredible privilege to work, dance, and sing alongside.
