Clearly the news of success set the tone for a most festive and joyous celebration.

Honorary co-chairs Ronnie Allunbaugh (always among the best dressed), Sandi Jackson and Sandi Simon stood proudly by the Perrys accepting accolades for raising an impressive $1.6 million. The big event, chaired with enormous effort and great style by Carol and Mark Perry, welcomed the VIP crowd at sunset for a lavish cocktail reception. Greeting the arriving crowd of some 400 well-wishers attending the gala, Julianne and George embraced long-time friends Dee and Larry Higby, Betty and SL Huang, Tracy and Roger Kirwan, Susan and Tim Strader, Carol and Kent Wilken and Maralou and Jerry Harrington, among many others. They and their extended close-knit family of children and grandchildren remain dedicated in a very personal and down-to-earth way with the community in which they have lived and prospered for their entire adult lives. The Orange County power couple made a multi-million-dollar gift to the center providing principal funding for the new Argyros Plaza which debuted earlier in the 2017 season.

The event honored major benefactors Julianne and George Argyros who are well-known for the extensive outreach of their considerable philanthropy. The 2017 gala, billed s “A Night To Remember” and themed around iconic images of Chicago, marked the 44th annual Christmas season fundraiser for the center. In the finest Orange County tradition, Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ Candlelight Concert unfolded at holiday time with exceptional grace and elegance.

Candlelight concert chicago