It is 2:30 in the morning in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now,I am really NOT a party person, but it was a fabulous evening! Who ever heard of having dinner at 11pm…but it was good and it was loads of fun.
The VIP reception on Friday night was beautiful. The room looked lovely and the desserts were yummy! Each person in attendance had the opportunity to have their individual picture taken with Clay Aiken and Diane Bubel. How they were able to get so many pictures taken in an hour is amazing…but they did.
Jerry Aiken started the program with a nice introduction to the evening. Jerry always does such a good job of representing the Project and makes all the audience feel comfortable.
Clay and Diane had a short question and answer session and tried to update us on all that is going on with the Project.
Next, Clay asked long-time fan, Ethyl, to join him on stage as he auctioned off two special events…a hot air balloon ride with Clay and a dinner for 15 with Clay. It was wonderful that the dinner went for $56,000.
The talented Ben Cohn joined Clay on stage. Clay said that they had rehearsed on Friday afternoon and completely changed what they were going to perform. They decided to sing songs from Clay’s first album, Measure of a Man. They performed:
1. The Way
2. Run To Me
3. I Survived You
4. Measure of A Man
5. Invisible (sung quietly as a ballad-it was amazing and so beautiful)
Hearing Clay’s beautiful voice with just the piano was a real treat and I have to admit I got just a bit teary as I found it so beautiful!
A couple of other comments. It was so nice to see Jerome at the Gala. He kept us all in line while we got our pictures taken. What a nice man!
Also, it was announced at the beginning of the evening that we could take pictures….BUT…no flash and no recordings of any kind. Fortunately, Scarlet was at the reception and shared her pictures with us. The following are a few that she took.
With Ethyl
Thank you to Scarlett for the pictures!
I am sure there is much more I should tell you, but My brain is closing down.
I will add more as the day goes by (and after some sleep)!