Each year, Center of the American Experiment holds an Annual Dinner that typically draws around 1,000 people. Such luminaries as Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev and the first President Bush have headlined the event; more recently, Tucker Carlson, Tom Cotton and Candace Owens. This year, we planned the dinner/fundraiser for April, rescheduled it for June on account of COVID, and then again to September 19. I refused to cancel the event, thinking that surely Minnesota’s state of emergency would be lifted by then. In the end, when I finally threw in the towel, we were the last event on the schedule of the Minneapolis Convention Center for 2020.
So, like everyone else, we have gone virtual. But our 2020 Virtual Gala won’t be like everyone else’s, because I turned the event over to the youngest people in our office and told them to re-imagine the event from top to bottom, and have fun with it. They are coming through in a major way.
Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders will be the featured speaker, with live Q and A. In addition, we will present a Courage In Government award to Governor Kristi Noem, which she will accept from her South Dakota office. The program will be streamed with TV-quality video. Some portions, like the National Anthem, will be pre-recorded.
Possibly the most fun element is that people are having viewing parties, where groups will get together to watch the gala. If you register a viewing party, we will send you a box of supplies, and periodically through the evening we will cut away, live, to viewing parties around the country. So far, 32 parties have been registered. Most are in Minnesota, but California, Missouri, Texas, Massachusetts and New Jersey are also represented. One guy in Massachusetts says he will assemble a group of 50 or 60.
The Virtual Gala is free. All you have to do is go to AmericanExperimentGala.com to register. You might wonder, how can it be a fundraiser if there is no charge to attend? The answer is that every single one of our donors who had signed up to be a table sponsor for a “real” dinner in April has stayed with us–even though there is no dinner, and no table. People care more about the conservative movement than about steak and seafood. In addition we will, of course, solicit donations.
It should be a fun event, if you are interested I encourage you to follow the link and register. And consider hosting a party!
