A Toast to the Arts Kicks off 40th Year Celebration

A Toast to the Arts was a Memorable Evening

The evening of April 26 proved to be a wonderful event at the Concord Country Club. Record attendance for A Toast to the Arts verified the value of Darlington to the community as lifeline to the arts.  It also provided great enthusiasm, serving as an ideal launching pad for the 40th Anniversary celebration that begins immediately. Raffles, a wine pull, enticing silent auction items, accompanied with tasty hors d’oeuvres, in addition to music by Brandywine Jazz and R&B, made for a memorable evening, a true toast to the arts.

The event was highlighted by student vocal performances and electric piano accompaniment during Bohemian Rhapsody that held the crowd in awe as did the mother daughter violin duet of DAC Teaching Artist Lingchin Liao with daughter Mae in their rendition of “Präludium by Shostakovich.  This was a musical tribute to Anne Dempsey, honored with the Teaching Excellence Award during the evening. Anne is a treasured Darlington Teaching Artist. As a member of the Fine Arts Faculty for 25 years, Anne has provided inspiration and encouragement to students in paint, clay, and mixed media instruction.

Hugs and high-five emphasized the camaraderie punctuating the festivities that carried the Darlington mission theme of “every art for everyone” into the night and into the community.