(Special Guest Appearance by the legendary Lily Tomlin)
Palm Springs, CA
After a three-year long hiatus, AAP – Food Samaritans’ Evening Under the Stars is back. On October 14, 2023, the charity will welcome champions of their nutritional support program to join in celebration of their resilience and continued service to the community. AAP is honored to also announce a special guest appearance by the legendary LILY TOMLIN.
In 1993, two years after AIDS Assistance Program was founded, the board of directors decided to
organize a small fundraising party to help increase AAP’s visibility and provide entertainment for the
community while helping to raise funds to support their mission. It started simply – a board member
donated the use of their backyard, and other board members and volunteers built a simple stage. The
audience was treated to a series of performances and the event raised enough money to help fund the
growing nutritional support program.
The event became an annual fundraising fête and one of the most elaborate galas in the Valley with up to
1,500 guests, a formal seated dinner, and world class entertainment including Barry Manilow, Cyndi
Lauper, and Gladys Knight.
Mark Anton, C.E.O./Executive Director explains: “Post COVID, with skyrocketing costs for everything, the
event as it had evolved wouldn’t ‘pencil out’ unless ticket prices were raised to $1,000, which is not
sustainable and not ‘us.’ We had to reimagine it. For the 30th Anniversary of the event, we are bringing it
back to our roots and having a celebration in one of the most spectacular estates in Palm Springs, with
abundant food and drink and a ticket price more in line with our grass-roots nature. $200. In 1991 three
strong women, Gloria Greene, Jeannette Rockefeller, and Joanna Jakway created AIDS Assistance
Program. We celebrate them and our humble beginnings with this reinvented Evening Under the Stars.”
The event will raise much needed funds to help AAP – Food Samaritans support the critically needed
programs that help address food insecurity and improve the quality of life for low-income people living
with chronic illnesses in Palm Springs and surrounding communities. The event is presented by
Eisenhower Health.
Anton continued: “Please join us for a simpler, new event in the spirit of the original Evening Under the
Stars garden party on Saturday, October 14 at 5:30 PM. In celebration of our supporters, we are honored
to present the following with the Community Impact Award: Lori and Aubrey Serfling, and Nelda Linsk.
We are honored to recognize their long-standing partnerships with us and all that they do in the
community.”
Tickets for the benefit are available at $200 per person and include hosted bar, “heavy hors d’oeurves”
by Eight4Nine, entertainment, and valet parking. It will be held at the home of Brad Lampley & Rigo
Lomeli (formerly known as ‘Houston South’). Sponsorships are also available. For tickets and more
information, call 760-325-8481 or visit aapfoodsamaritans.org.
ABOUT LILY TOMLIN
Lily Tomlin, one of America’s foremost comediennes, continues to venture across an ever-widening
range of media, starring in television, theater, motion pictures, animation, video, and social media.
Throughout her extraordinary career, Tomlin has received numerous awards, including: seven Emmys; a
Tony for her one woman Broadway show, Appearing Nitely; a second Tony for Best Actress, a Drama
Desk Award and an Outer Critics’ Circle Award for her one woman performance in Jane Wagner’s The
Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film
adaptation of The Search; a Grammy for her comedy album, This is a Recording as well as nominations
for her subsequent albums Modern Scream, And That’s the Truth, and On Stage; and two Peabody
Awards – the first for the ABC television special, Edith Ann’s Christmas (Just Say Noël), and the second
for narrating and executive producing the HBO film, The Celluloid Closet. In 2003, she received the Mark
Twain Prize for American Humor and, in December 2014, was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy
Center Honors in Washington DC. For more information, please visit http://www.lilytomlin.com/