On a rainy February Sunday afternoon, with the Marin County hills greening up outside, those of us who were lucky enough to be at the Trinity Irish Dance Company performance were doing a bit of 'greening up' ourselves. The lively percussion of drums and the feet of the dance troupe kept the audience clapping in time. The dance numbers were punctuated by lyrical musical performances on flute, guitar and bagpipe. Talented local Irish dance students were featured throughout to great applause as well. But those with the real luck o' the Irish were those holding Gold Circle tickets, because we were admitted to the Redwood Foyer after the show for the annual FOMC Gala, presented this year by Bank of America and the Marco A. Vidal Foundation.

This year's theme was When Irish Eyes are Smiling. And there was a lot to smile about! Marcus Lee and his An Affair to Remember Catering team outdid themselves with an Irish buffet, including Irish stew, Irish rarebit, shepherds' pie, fish & chips and something called boxty cakes topped with smoked salmon & caviar, and much more. Our friends from Moylan's Brewery and Roche Carneros Estate Winery generously poured the potent potables, while John Slater and his family served up Ben & Jerry's ice cream cake from their store in San Rafael.

While partaking of all this fabulous fare, we got to enjoy the Trinity bagpiper giving an up close and personal performance, and we got to chat with all the delightful young performers, hailing from all over the US (one from Marin!), who looked so festive in their beautiful costumes.

The Redwood Foyer Gallery walls featured the works of Patrick Maloney, Marin's favorite Irish-American artist/teacher, a past recipient of the Marin Community Foundation individual artist grant. His lively colorful large-scale pieces were the perfect backdrop for the festivities.

The Gala was dedicated to the memory of Board member Chuck Curley, whose Irish eyes were always smiling, and who would so have enjoyed the evening.

Huge thanks go to all the Gala sponsors:

Co-presenting sponsors Bank of America and Marco Vidal Foundation, Patron Sponsor Autodesk Corporation, Supporting Sponsors Panamax Corporation & the Henry Moody Family, Sponsors Mark Cavagnero Associates; Doherty Painting & Construction, Inc.; Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Urquhart; Royston, Hanamoto, Alley & Abey; and Unicorn Printing.

The funds raised from this event will help our Outreach Program to provide free tickets to Marin Center events to those in our community who otherwise would not be able to afford the cultural enrichment such performances can provide. Funds are also used to enhance Marin Center, making attendance more pleasureable for the entire community.