BAYarts Moondance a night to remember

BAYarts Executive Director Nancy Heaton and Green Team co-chair Brenda O'Reilly with 14 totes of compostable material diverted from the landfill after Moondance.

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More than 1,200 guests filled the BAYarts campus in Huntington Reservation on Sept. 13 for the annual Moondance benefit, raising over $90,000 for the non-profit. 

BAYarts is an arts education campus serving greater Cleveland with art classes, exhibition and community. Funds raised by this event make it possible for BAYarts to keep other events free throughout the year, including gallery exhibitions, summer concerts and the annual Art & Music Festival. In 2015, a summer farmer's market will become part of the offerings, and the new ceramics studio will be open for business.  

Executive Director Nancy Heaton said Moondance was once again a sell-out. "I think people like our event because, just like everything else we do, it's fun. We don't make speeches, we just share our beautiful venue, have great food and music and you get to see neighbors and friends you haven't seen since the last event." Heaton said one shortcoming was that food vendors ran out of food earlier than expected, but already the event team is recruiting more great restaurants and a few food trucks to accommodate the hungry crowd next year.  

Returning this year was Joe Bell and the Swing Lizards, and swing they did. Playing on the Fuller House gazebo, the porch provided a perfect dance floor surrounding the band. Special guest Todd Allen played solo guitar in a quieter nearby tent.

The event was made possible by the support of long-time sponsors Great Lakes Brewery and Euro Fine Wines, while guests were able to sample from ten of the area's best eateries. The range of tastes was wide, with offerings from 87 West, Cabin Club, Euro Fine Wines, Great Lakes Brewery, Ironwood Cafe, Mojo's Coffe and More, Michael Symon's B Spot, Pearl of the Orient, Rich Clark and Sue Stewart Catering, Sweet Melissa's and Taki's Greek Kitchen.

For their funding and support of the Karen Ryel Ceramic Arts and Education Center, Brian and Gretchen Colleran were prominent guests of honor. The center is due to open for winter 2015 classes.   

Members of The Bay Village Green Team successfully executed a Zero Waste event. Only compostable items were used and disposed of in a mannered system. In total, there were fourteen 65-gallon totes of compostable material diverted from the landfill. Behind the scenes, the bottles of wine and cardboard boxes were recycled. Future Organics provided compost receptacles, and Pure Water Technology provided fresh water stations, both free of charge.

Mary Conway Sullivan, Board Development Chair, returned as the event organizer, saying that the best part of all the planning and execution is the team who puts it together year after year. "My favorite part of Moondance is relaxing at the end of the night around one of the fire pits with the staff and our many volunteers, sharing stories of how much fun we saw people having and conversations we had."  

With the new ceramics studio and expanded class selections, the art campus has become a cultural destination, attracting new audiences each year. Nancy Heaton explained the importance of Moondance, saying, "This is an important benefit for one reason: our number one job is to serve our community, so we serve them a good party that in turn will sustain what we can offer to them in the year ahead; the support of this community inspires us to be better!"