Locals launch inaugural ball for Tea Fire victims

By ERIC LINDBERG — Jan. 7, 2009

Mere days after the Tea Fire destroyed hundreds of homes in Montecito and Santa Barbara, two local women started brainstorming a way to help out the victims of the fire.

MaryAnne Contreras and Ginger Sledge envisioned a black tie gala featuring plenty of local wine, food and music. Ultimately, the UniTea Inaugural Ball was born.

“We’ve got all these restaurants on board, we have all these musicians generously donating their time,” Contreras said. “It’s going to be great.”

The grassroots group of organizers will host the event on Jan. 20 at the Granada Theatre’s Founder’s Room and all proceeds will go to a special fund established at the Unity Shoppe.

Kenny Loggins, Alan Parsons, Soma Son and plenty of other musicians are already slated to perform during the event, organizers said, while dozens of local restaurants are donating staff time to prepare food for the ball.

“Everything is being donated free of charge,” Contreras said. “We tried to make it so that every cent of the ticket sales would go directly to the fire victims. We’ve tried to keep our costs down as much as possible.”

In addition to dinner, drinks and dancing, the event will include a raffle featuring donated items such as skateboards, snowboards, skin care packages and gift certificates.

Organizers decided that, rather than trying to distribute money themselves, they would team up with a local charity or nonprofit to ensure the proceeds benefit those in need.

“We found that the Unity Shoppe had the best lines of distribution, in our estimation,” Contreras said.

She said organizers are hoping at least 350 people will attend the ball, which is in step with the inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama. While not a partisan event, she said the ball will play off Obama’s theme of hope.

“The message of the new administration is community helping community, people coming together,” she said.

The invitation, which is being sent out by email only in order to remain as “green” as possible, is a replica of the invitation to Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural ball, Contreras said, adding “We just thought it was cool.”

The ball takes place on Jan. 20 from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $150 per person, or $250 per couple, and can be purchased online at www.uniteaball.org or by calling the Unity Shoppe at 965-4122, ext. 303.

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