Passport to the Caribbean
Passport to the Caribbean, the 19th Atlanta International School Spring Benefit, will be presented for your enjoyment and entertainment on April 9. In a celebration of its culture, food, music, and joie de vivre, we bring the Caribbean to North Fulton Drive. Buy your tickets soon! Mingle with your friends, renew acquaintances, and meet new people. Join us as we welcome our Honorary Chairs, Roy and Olga Plaut, co-founders of AIS, in celebration of the 20th birthday of our school.
The celebration begins at 6 p.m. when you will be welcomed at the door by the tropical steel band sounds of native Trinidadian Claude Fabien and brightly clad students who will be happy to teach the limbo to entering guests. Pass through our Caribbean foyer and make your way to the auditorium where reggae tunes will play in the background as you discover unique and desirable silent auction items. We offer a wide breadth of items from delightfully creative student art projects to specialty birthday parties to dinners at consular homes. During this portion of the event, our students will be passing tropically inspired appetizers as well as selling raffle tickets for the tuition drawing. The silent auction continues until 8 p.m. We will have two Featured Silent Auction tables. The bidding on these items will continue until the end of the live auction.
We move from the auditorium to the grand tent where our island theme continues in colors, décor, and dinner which starts with a lovely crab salad and sliced avocado garnish. Headmaster David Hawley will welcome our guests while dinner continues. Our emcee, Patricia Janiot, parent and CNN en Español anchor, will introduce the next portions of the evening and then on to the most exciting part of the event: the live auction. Jan Bilthouse, AIS parent and auctioneer extraordinaire, will give all a chance to bid on items, most of which are available to us through the generosity of AIS parents. Many are once-in-a-lifetime experiences or student artwork that will become family heirlooms. When the auction ends, the music begins. Dance the night away with Orquesta Taboga and their lead vocalist, Carmen Cruz, as they encourage us to move to the beat and rhythm of their nine-piece band.
The evening could not happen without the help, support, and commitment of the parents at AIS. This evening is going to be great fun but remember, the ultimate goal is that the funds raised benefit the school, which of course means benefit to the students. Please turn to page 15 for a small sampling of the fabulous Live Auction items.
Student Art Preview
Each year our students delight us with works of art for the Spring Benefit. Once again, our students from 4K through Grade 8 have worked on their masterpieces, family heirlooms of the future, memories that keep their childhood alive in our minds even as they grow. Because these pieces are so special, we are going to have a Student Art Preview in the auditorium from April 5 through April 7. This is an opportunity for parents to see what their budding artists have designed and to place bids for their pieces. Please join us there. Look for your invitation in Primary School agendas and in your e-mail box.