Gala in Graceada moves out of the park and into the house to celebrate Modesto’s 150th

Gala in Graceada was intended to be an annual event when it kicked off last year: a formal dinner in Modesto’s large downtown park.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gala, like so many similar efforts, is now an at-home event. The fundraiser this year also commemorates Modesto’s 150th anniversary, which was meant to be a year-long, citywide celebration that also got sidetracked by coronavirus.

Gala in Graceada, which raises money for improvements to Graceada and its sister park, Enslen, is now a to-go event set for Oct. 17. If you can’t go on that date, food will be available early, on Friday, Oct. 2.

For $150 per person or $250 for two, ticket-buyers will get a “luxury picnic basket that is filled with everything you need to ‘gala’ wherever you’d like,” organizer Julie Scherer said in an email.

That includes an appetizer, four-course meal and dessert, complete with a sparkler to commemorate Modesto’s sesquicentennial celebration.

A silent auction will be held online rather than in person. It will start Friday and conclude Oct. 17; purchase of a dinner includes access to bidding.

Sales have been brisk, Scherer said. And several sponsors also have signed on to help raise money. These include Boyett Petroleum, Valero, Beard Family Companies, Huff Construction, Direct Appliance, the Porges Family Foundation, the Clark family, The Morris Group, Sutter, Central Valley Automotive and Dr. Holmes.

For more information or to reserve a basket, go online to www.GalainGraceada.com.