Philadelphia, PA – It’s time for the “hepcats” in “righteous rags” to Lindy Hop down to the Bride for June Bride: A Night at the Savoy, the Painted BrideArt Center’s 8th annual fundraiser and party. A legendary music and dance venue in Harlem history, the Savoy Ballroom was “hoppin’” in the 1920s and 30s when jazz was in its heyday with artists like Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Ballrooms dominated Harlem, but the Savoy – whose Maplewood dance floor and bandstands stretched across an entire city block – would become the “king of swing.”  A Night at the Savoy festivities include a jumpin’ live performance by Philadelphia swing singer Ella Gahnt and the E.G. Quartet and mouthwatering soul food donated by area restaurants. June Bride: A Night at the Savoy takes place on Saturday, June 10, 2004 at 7pm. Tickets are $25 per person. For tickets and information, call the box office at 215.925.9914 or visit www.paintedbride.org. Box office hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 12pm to 6pm. The Bride is located at 230 Vine Street in Old City, Philadelphia.

The Bride’s biggest and most important fundraiser, June Bride annually includes a silent auction and concert celebration thematically focused on a city, region or, this time around, a slice of Americana. This year, June Bride will consist of both an art auction and an art sale, to be inclusive of Bride supporters on a budget. The auction includes over 100 artful items with starting bids as little as $15, including visual art, fine craftwork, hand-crafted jewelry and thematically designed packages of items and services donated from local businesses. (For the art collectors, the Bridal Registry features select items valued at over $500.) The art sale will consist of pieces of 2-D visual art priced at $100

Event attendees can bid on an extensive array of visual art, including works by artists from Bridgitte Mayer Gallery and InLiquid.com artists like mixed-media team Allen Spencer and Deborah Imler and fabric artist/dollmaker Adam Parker Smith. Donation packages include the city’s gastronomical heavens, such as Amada, Tangerine and Beau Monde. Bidders can also pick from packages that include performances by the Opera Company of Philadelphia, 1812 Productions and Society Hill Playhouse. To boot, every year the Bride auctions off fabulous getaways, including the weekend Cape May Getaway to a 5-bedroom beachfront home.

Painted Bride Art Center has been one of the city’s chief cultural pioneers and most beloved institutions for over three decades. It continues to serve as both a veritable incubator for artists breaking new ground and an intimate venue to see world-class artists from the region and around the globe.   As the Bride has evolved, it has maintained a commitment to using its stage and galleries as a platform for a range of voices and communities, such as those of economic, ethnic, cultural, gender, and sexual diversity.  The Bride’s time-honored mission has been to work with artists to present programs that affirm the intrinsic values of all cultures, the inspirational and healing powers of the arts and to effect social change.