Marc and Robyn Sidoti at JDRF Imagine Gala
It’s one of the most highly anticipated charitable events of the season and 2019’s Imagine Gala May 4 at the Beverly Hilton’s International ballroom with Harry Connick Jr. performing did not disappoint.
The annual event, which this year honored Marc and Robyn Sidoti, is put on by the Los Angeles chapter of JDRF, a nonprofit organization founded in 1970 whose mission is improving lives by curing Type I diabetes (T1D). Its fundraising efforts go towards accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat the disease and its complications.
The evening was hosted by Frank Buckley, co-anchor of KTLA’s morning news.
The honorees spoke about how their daughter was diagnosed when she was seven years old and how they were relentless and determined to make a difference to give her and others with T1D an opportunity to make their lives better.
“We put together an all-star team to hit it out of the park,” said Robyn Sidoti. “JDRF has been our lifesaver. I’m a mom who will do whatever it takes to make sure my daughter has a successful life.”
Among the 600 guests were Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment Chairman Dana Walden and a number of others from the entertainment industry and the worlds of sports and music including David Osmond, Derek Theler, Jon Platt, Austin Basis, Eric Tozer, Damon Dash and Pam Shriver.
A live and silent auction raised $550,000 and a total of more than $1 million was raised from the evening.
The dinner menu was carefully chosen and began with a baby kale and mixed green salad with red and white quinoa, fresh raspberries, roasted almonds and crumbled goat cheese. The entrée was organic free range chicken breast with mushroom risotto, roasted carrots and sweet red peppers and for dessert there was a choice of a banana cream and cinnamon graham tart or an espresso almond tiramisu cup. Each menu item listed the grams of carbs it contained and offered a reminder that the wine served at every table also contains carbs.
Connick Jr. and his band ended things on a celebratory note by performing four songs, revving up the excitement as he and his five-piece band marched through the black-tie audience in the ballroom.
