PRESS RELEASE
July 23, 2008
(DALLAS, TX)
It all began ten years ago with a crazy dream that kept swirling
around John Garcia's mind. He gathered up a close group of friends to
help make that wacky dream into a reality. This "dream" premiered at
the intimate Plaza Theater in Garland, Texas. What was this dream? It
was none other than THE COLUMN Awards.
THE COLUMN Awards Organization honors excellence in theater around the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. THE COLUMN Awards is the only awards
organization in the United States that donates all their profits
(after operating expenses) to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
(BC/EFA).
Since that intimate awards ceremony at the Plaza Theater, THE COLUMN
Awards continued to grow in attendance, support, popularity, and even
gaining national recognition. It now has a Board of Directors of
extremely hard working individuals that work with Garcia to produce a
lavish gala with major celebrities from the entertainment world of
Film, Broadway, and Television to serve as special guest stars.
For the last three years THE COLUMN Awards Gala has become such a
sought after ticket, that the event completely sold out The Courtyard
Theater in Plano in less than two weeks. The Courtyard Theater has
served as the official home of THE COLUMN Awards for the past three
years. The Board of Directors and Garcia realized the incredible
increase in attendance had to be addressed this year.
With that said, it is the extreme honor & privilege that the Board of
Directors and Executive Director/Producer John Garcia announce that
the 10TH ANNUAL COLUMN AWARDS GALA will be held for the first time in the gorgeous
Carpenter Hall Theater at the Irving Arts Center in Irving, TX.
"We knew that the awards gala has grown beyond the capacity of The
Plano Courtyard Theater, which has been our beautiful home for the
last three years", stated Garcia. "So when the opportunity to move to
the Irving Arts Center presented itself, the Board and I agreed that
it was time to move."
Garcia went on to say, "On behalf of my Board of Directors, we cannot
thank enough the amazing staff and team at The Courtyard Theater. They
become such big supporters of THE COLUMN Awards and it's Gala. They
worked so incredibly hard each year to help turn our ideas into
reality. They have become our friends and we could not have succeeded
without them. We will always value and treasure our time with The
Courtyard."
THE COLUMN Awards Board of Directors and Executive Director John
Garcia wish to publicly thank the Courtyard Theatre, its staff and
the City of Plano for allowing THE COLUMN Awards to host the Gala in
such a beautiful venue for the last 3 years.
The Irving Arts Center & the Irving Arts Board have been very
receptive to THE COLUMN Awards organization and are very excited in
hosting the 10TH ANNUAL COLUMN AWARDS GALA!
"We are thrilled beyond words to do our Gala this year at such an
exquisite Theater that is Carpenter Hall!" Garcia said, "The audience
capacity is doubled now, we have lots more dressing rooms and stage
space to raise the bar even higher to produce one of the most lavish
and spectacular evenings we've ever had in the ten year history of
THE COLUMN Awards!"
To see pictures of the beautiful Carpenter Hall, go to their official
website: www.irvingartscenter.com
Because of the move to Carpenter Hall, the date for the 10TH ANNUAL
COLUMN AWARDS GALA has been moved to Monday, March 23, 2009.
-END-
AGAIN,
PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE FOR THE GALA!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
THE COLUMN Awards Gala
March 23, 2009
Irving Arts Center - Carpenter Hall