 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Christopher's Story Overcoming the challenge of autism to find a job where his talents shine .... MORE |
 |
 |
||
October 4, 2007 (Cleveland, Ohio) United Way of Greater Cleveland's GuitarMania Gala Auction, the rock-and-roll and public art fundraising event of the year, will be on Saturday, October 20, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The over 70 nine-foot-tall Fender® Stratocaster® guitars transformed into works of art by local artists and national celebrities are currently on display at the Rock Hall. All the guitars not already purchased by their sponsors will be put up for auction at this rock chic event. Proceeds benefit United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Rock Hall's education programs. GuitarMania, the public art project that rocked Cleveland in 2002 and 2004, returned to the rock-and-roll capital of the world in 2007. Corporations, organizations and individuals sponsored local artists to paint, sculpt or decorate the 9-foot-tall replica guitars. Celebrity artists were also recruited to paint and decorate guitar entries. Celebrities who submitted guitar entries include Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, NASCAR drivers Dale Ernhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, renowned NASCAR artist Sam Bass and internationally recognized Beatles artist Shannon. Also up for auction will be the Serial #1 Limited Edition Shelby® GT Stratocaster inspired by the Ford® Shelby® GT Mustang® coupe and autographed by the legendary automotive designer Carroll Shelby himself. Only 200 Shelby GT guitars were made, and all of them have already been sold, except for the Serial #1 guitar, which has been donated by Ford Motor Company exclusively for the GuitarMania Auction. The previous two GuitarMania events raised over $1.6 million, benefiting United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's education programs. GuitarMania SuperSponsors Eaton Corporation and KeyBank are joined by project sponsors Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Clear Channel, Cleveland Magazine, cleveland.com, Continental Airlines, The Plain Dealer, Sherwin-Williams, Pilot Air Freight and Turner Construction in making this internationally recognized event possible. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the live auction begins at 8 p.m. Admission (per person) is $150 reserved seating; $75 general admission, and includes cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live entertainment and valet parking. Tickets are available by contacting Stephanie Gertner at 216-436-2125 or sgertner@uws.org, or by logging on to GuitarMania's Web site cleveland.com/guitarmania. Space is limited. RSVP by Friday, October 12. For more information about GuitarMania, please contact Matt McManus at 216-436-2122 or mmcmanus@uws.org or Michelle Battle at 216-436-2121 or mbattle@uws.org. General information about GuitarMania can be found at GuitarMania's Web site cleveland.com/guitarmania. United Way of Greater Cleveland is a leader in addressing health and human service needs through convening partnerships, funding programs and generating resources to support our community's priorities. United Way invests in our community through nearly 180 programs provided by more than 130 United Way partner agencies throughout Greater Cleveland. |
|||