Gala 2026 Recap

At this year’s LPEF gala, attendees perused auction items in a shady redwood grove, while the dance floor was in the center of the main space. The auction, set to a smooth yacht rock soundtrack, brought in 35 percent more than last year, with bidders in captain’s hats, feathered hair, and jumpsuits cruising from table to table. By 8 p.m., the dance floor was overflowing. I watched a man I know from the soccer sidelines throw both arms in the air and shout the lyrics to Pink Pony Club along with dozens of casual acquaintances.

People were joyful and truly comfortable, the way you are with neighbors who have seen you in your pajamas at drop-off. The mood was largely set by our hostess, Patti Hughes, who for over two decades has opened her property to LPEF and understands that a place is only as good as the people you gather in it.

The good vibes ushered in good profits. We brought in $253,000 from ticket sales, sponsorships, hosted parties, top hat donations, the silent and live auctions, and drinks. Expenses were $72,000, mostly to cover catering, lighting and sound, rentals, and vacation packages that we auctioned off. Our event netted $181,000 for our schools, about $30,000 more than last year. Community members donated and bid on auction items, sponsored, hosted parties, and dropped money into the top hat, which this year funds a play yard makeover at Loma Prieta and C.T. English.

At Loma Prieta Elementary, LPEF funds paid for this year’s art, music, and physical education, and helped keep class sizes small. It made the difference between a third grader who has never touched a recorder and one who can, after weeks of heroic squeaking, play a recognizable tune. Or on the basketball court, where children learn perseverance by missing the same shot ten times and trying again.

At C.T. English Middle School, LPEF funds paid for Spanish, art, and computer science this year. That means a seventh-grader learning to count in another language, a 13-year-old working out feelings in charcoal because they don’t yet have the words, and a middle-schooler gaining insight into how the digital world works. None of this can be taken for granted. It exists because our community made it happen.

We thank everyone who came, bid, sponsored, donated, and volunteered. The children may never know about the dancing, but they will experience what it made possible.