Why are the arts so important to a community? “The arts enrich our lives in our community,” Moss says. “I’m all about community—simple as that.”
Location
- 101 W Vermilion St, Lafayette, LA
Tickets
Pelican Ball
Black Tie Optional, Dancing Shoes Mandatory!
Hosted in the James Devin Moncus Theater, this annual gala celebrates the leading supporters of arts and culture in Acadiana on Saturday, December 7, 2024.
The event also features a live and silent auction, which is the only opportunity to receive a Pelicans on Parade for your business or home.
Your Ticket Includes:
Food + Drinks + Live Music + Art + Pelicans on Parade Auction
Your Ticket Purchase Supports:
AcA’s programs that bring national acts of music & dance, thrilling theater productions, and cutting-edge visual arts exhibitions to Lafayette. Your support also helps expand AcA’s community programs, which include professional development for practicing artists and Arts in Education experiences for more than 80 schools across the region, impacting 43,000 students per year.
Sponsorship Opportunities:
$1,500 – Patron
Reserved seating & tickets for 2 attendees
$2,500 – Benefact or
Reserved seating & tickets for 4 attendees
$5,000 – Presenting
Reserved seating & tickets for 6 attendees
Pelican Ball sponsors are invited to attend the VIP reception for honorees which begins at 6:00pm on the evening of the gala. This is an intimate gathering where the honorees are presented with plaques recognizing their service and where all honorees have a chance to speak.
Please contact Corinne Sprague, AcA’s Development Director, to secure your sponsorship, Corinne@AcadianaCenterfortheArts.org, 337-940-0364
Pelican Ball Honorees
Janet Begneaud, Member Emeritus
Sharon Moss, Honorary Member
Todd Mouton, Honorary Member
Jody Nederveld, Honorary Member
Cathy Webre, Honorary Member
The Pelican Ball recognizes the people who have shaped the arts in Acadiana through their commitment and service. We honor both individuals who have contributed directly to the arts council’s work and individuals who have shaped the broader cultural life in Acadiana through their work.
We honor these individuals, and we celebrate our thriving culture in the best way we know how: with a night full of food, music, and artful surprises amidst the core ‘flock’ of Acadiana’s cultural community.
Pelican Ball Honoree: Sharon Moss
read more
Pelican Ball Honoree: Janet Begneaud
Begnaud’s life has been both exciting and rewarding, and definitely, at times, stranger than fiction. Spanning the country, and across international waters, she has had encounters with too many celebrities to count or recall. Her trips exposed her—literally—to the world of art. And her work, and volunteer work, helped to shape her essence along the way.
Pelican Ball Honoree: Cathy Webre & Jody Nederveld
For decades, Cathy Webre and Jody Nederveld have been pivotal forces behind the cultural and economic revival of Downtown Lafayette. As key leaders in the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Downtown Lafayette Unlimited (DLU), Webre and Nederveld worked tirelessly to transform Lafayette’s downtown into a vibrant hub of activity, arts, and community pride.
Pelican Ball Honoree: Todd Mouton
“The reason we have nice things in Lafayette, like Festival International or Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, or AcA,” he adds, “the reason we have those things is because we believe in our value, and we believe that it’s as good—our dignity, our respect—it’s as good as anybody, anywhere, anytime, anything.”
Live Auction
Pelicans on Parade
Your ONLY chance to get a Pelican on Parade for your business or organization
Les Grand Derangement by Aj Hebert
Ghost pelican to be designed by an artist of winning bidder’s choice
Live Auction
Cady Ana Pelican by Kim Bullen
Meet Cady Ana, created uniquely for Pelican Ball. She is woven with many Acadiana Businesses that bring our community together. Look closer and you’ll find glimpses of local favorites hiding within her wings, webbed feet, and a few nestled into her tussled crest.
Cady Ana, 30″x40″, mixed media collage, by Kim Bullen
Raffle
Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry will host our Pink Pelican Raffle!
Purchase a $100 Pink Pelican cocktail at their table for a chance to win a stunning pair of 1.50 ct estate diamond cluster earrings, curated exclusively for Pelican Ball.
Only 100 tickets available!
Silent Auction Pelicans
Cypress Reverie by Kelli Smith
MAISON OISEAUX by Roz LeCompte
Marquis de Lafayette by Rachel Perry
Church Beauty by Carol Ann Broussard
Champagne Pour by…
Stardust Acrobatics
Grab a glass and prepare to be dazzled by our aerial bartender
Featuring Live Music From…
Jackson and the Janks
Returning by popular demand from Pelican Ball 2022!
Jackson and the Janks are a rock and roll and rhythm and blues garage gospel band.
Known to light up the floor with fresh and time honored dancin’ music.
Sacred steel lifting you up and bass saxophone holding it down.
About the Pelican Ball
The Pelican Ball recognizes the people who have shaped the arts in Acadiana through their commitment and service. We honor both individuals who have contributed directly to the arts council’s work and individuals who have shaped the broader cultural life in Acadiana through their work.
We honor these individuals, and we celebrate our thriving culture in the best way we know how: with a night full of food, music, and artful surprises amidst the core ‘flock’ of Acadiana’s cultural community.
Why a Pelican?
In 2000, Acadiana Center for the Arts worked with artist David Fox and students at public elementary schools served by AcA’s arts education programs to design the first “Pelicans on Parade.” In 2021, AcA re-introduced the Pelicans on Parade as part of an annual fundraiser, the Pelican Ball, where new, unique pelicans are auctioned off as part of the benefit for arts education in Acadiana.
Download the original Pelican Field Guide from way back when! This document has images of all of the original Pelicans on Parade and lots of historic info on the project.
