2015 Folger Gala

About the evening

Thursday, April 23, 2015 Celebrating Four Decades of Folger Education

The Folger Shakespeare Library's 2015 Gala was a resounding success! With the generosity of our sponsors, guests, and donors, we raised more than $360,000 for the Folger Shakespeare Library’s educational and cultural mission.

We are especially grateful to Gala Co-Chairs Philip Deutch and Marne Levine and the Gala Committee whose leadership and dedication helped make this one of our most successful galas to date. We also thank our Honorary Co-Chairs the British Ambassador and Lady Westmacott for their continued patronage.

More than 250 guests enjoyed cocktails in the Great Hall while viewing the landmark exhibition from the National Maritime Museum, Ships, Clocks & Stars: The Quest for Longitude. The navigational instruments were a fitting backdrop in this celebration of the journey of learning. In the Elizabethan Theatre guests were treated to a celebration of Folger Education, the Masters of Ceremony for which were four high school students, representing the 793,906 students who have taken part in Folger programs over the last four decades. The program included an excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by Center City Public Charter School and a video of testimonials from teachers around the country who participated in our Teaching Shakespeare Institute. The whole program was a moving tribute to the Folger's work with teachers and students. The evening’s finale was the black-tie dinner in the exquisitely bedecked Reading Rooms. If you were unable to attend, you can view pictures of the beautiful evening at "Washington Life" and the "Folger's Flickr Page".