Lake Erie Gala Oct 28-Nov 1


from Erie Sisters and Brothers


The 2015 Lake Erie Gala, sponsored by the Erie Sisters and Brothers, will be held at the Avalon Hotel Oct. 28-Nov. 1 The event is moved up from our traditional week before Thanksgiving this year, to lessen the possibility of the kind of severe weather we had last year that blocked members from Buffalo and Canada. This year, being centered around the week of Halloween, the Gala will naturally be Halloween themed. Registration will open Wednesday morning, and our first event will be cocktail hour and dinner at Molly Branigan's, followed by bowling. Tours kick off Thursday morning, and will include a tour of the catacombs below Union Station, aka BrewErie. Our group had the first tour of the underbelly of the terminal years ago as part of a Gala tour after several years of begging to see it. If you've never seen it, it could fit right into one of those "paranormal experience" shows. Other legs of the Thursday tour include Fuhrman's Cider Mill, Arundel Cellars, and Penn Shore Winery. Thursday evening will welcome back illusionist Cliff Hopkins, who performed for us in 2011 and gave a terrific show.


Friday's tour lineup visits Grape Discovery Center, McClurg Museum, lunch at Brazil's, and Five and Twenty Spirits, all in Westfield NY. From there the tour concludes at Burch Farms in North East before returning to the Avalon. The annual Glitter Ball has been moved to Friday night, instead of our traditional Saturday night, and all meals at the Avalon throughout the Gala are Halloween themed. Saturday night, being Halloween, we will have a Halloween party with cash prizes, and is open to the public. Our lighting engineer, Jennifer Lucas, is providing lights and effects throughout the event. Jennifer owns a large lighting company, and has done the lightshow for the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day half time the past 2 years, and has the contract for this year's game as well.


All in all, this year's Lake Erie Gala is shaping up to be a truly EErie event. For registration and more information, visit the Erie Sisters and Brothers website at http://eriesisters.ning.com or contact president Melanie Shubitowski at shub1@suite224.net by e-mail or phone (440) 265-8191