October 3, 2008

Twenty-eight local arts champions to be honored at special philanthropy luncheon

Arts Council Silicon Valley will honor 28 local businesses and individuals at the biennial 2008 Silicon Valley Arts & Business Awards (ABBYs) Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 17, at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. These nominees will be recognized at the valley’s premier arts philanthropy event, which celebrates those who have made significant financial and volunteer contributions to the arts in Silicon Valley during the past two years.

A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Irene Dalis, Founder and General Director, Opera San Jose for her artistic and leadership contributions to arts in Silicon Valley over the past 25 years.

“The past two years have provided some major challenges for arts and cultural organizations in Silicon Valley,” said Bruce W. Davis, executive director of Arts Council Silicon Valley. “The purpose for this event is to bring light to the fact that we cannot and are not doing this alone. Each and every individual and corporation that has been nominated deserves credit and recognition for their support of our arts community.”

The luncheon will be held on Friday, Oct. 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $70 per person with a limited number of nonprofit tickets available. For more information about the ABBYs, including sponsorships, visit the website at www.artscouncil.org/abbys or call (408) 998-2787 ext. 208.

The following nominees will be honored at the 2007 Silicon Valley Arts & Business Awards:

Large Business Support
- Adobe Systems, Inc., San Jose, nominated by Zero 1, San Jose
- Applied Materials, Inc, San Jose, nominated by City Lights, San Jose & Triton Museum, Santa Clara
- Comcast, San Jose, nominated by San Jose Jazz
- Downey Savings, Los Gatos, nominated by Campbell Heritage Theatre
- Target, Newark, nominated by San Jose Children’s Musical Theater and San Jose Museum of Art
- Target Stores, Newark, nominated by Mexican Heritage Corporation, San Jose

Small Business Support
- Eulipia Restaurant & Bar, San Jose, nominated by City Lights Theatre Company of San Jose
- Gentry Magazine, Menlo Park, nominated by Peninsula Youth Theatre, Mountain View
- Kirkorian Enterprises, Kirkwood Plaza, Campbell, nominated by Campbell Heritage Theatre
- Star One Credit Union, Sunnyvale, nominated by American Musical Theatre, San Jose
- Threxy, Inc., San Jose, nominated by Children’s Musical Theatre San Jose
- Two Fish Design, San Jose, nominated by Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, San Jose
- University Art, Palo Alto, nominated by Community School of Music & Arts, Mountain View

Individual Contributor
- Jim Lewis, San Jose, nominated by City Lights Theater Company of San Jose
- Yvonne and Mike Nevens, Los Altos Hills, nominated by San Jose Museum of Art
- Arturo Riera, San Francisco, nominated by San Jose Jazz
- Joshua Swanbeck, Morgan Hill, nominated by San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art
- Mary Turner-Gilliand, Menlo Park, nominated by San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles

Outstanding Volunteer
- Robert Corpus, San Jose, nominated by History San Jose
- Andrea (Andy) Cunningham, Palo Alto, nominated by Zero 1, San Jose
- Debbie Czyzewski, Sunnyvale, nominated by The Music School, Sunnyvale
- Sue Krumbein, Palo Alto, nominated by TheatreWorks, Palo Alto
- Museum Store Guild, San Jose, nominated by San Jose Museum of Art
- Jodi Porter, Mountain View, nominated by American Ice Theatre Board of Directors, San Jose
- David Preston, Las Vegas, nominated by Ballet San Jose
- Saratoga Rotary, Saratoga, nominated by Carol Hutchinson, Los Gatos & Gillian Moran, Saratoga
- Kathy Sullivan, Morgan Hill, nominated by South Valley Quilt Association, Morgan Hill
- Chris Worrall, Santa Clara, nominated by San Jose Repertory Theater

Sponsors for the event include Adobe, Applied Materials, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, Classical 102.1 KDFC and NBC 11, among others. The proceeds from this event benefit Arts Council Silicon Valley, which annually supports more than 600 local arts and cultural organizations throughout Santa Clara County.