A Grand Night, Flushing Town Hall’s 2026 Gala
Oct 22, 2026
A Grand Night, Flushing Town Hall’s 2026 Gala
October 22, 2026
6 PM Cocktail Hour | 7:30 PM Dinner & Performances | 9 PM Dessert
Presented by Veronica Y. Tsang
Join us for this year’s gala to celebrate the art, artists, and community that make Flushing Town Hall home.
We are thrilled to be honoring two remarkable leaders in the arts: Aurelia Fernandez for her work as an accomplished Mexican paper artist, FTH Teaching Artist, and humanitarian; and Ellen Kodadek, FTH’s Executive & Artistic Director for her 18 years of tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to bringing people together through global arts. This will be a very special evening you do not want to miss!
A Grand Night will be headlined by two thrilling acts: Two Piano Journey and Arturo O'Farrill. Two Piano Journey, the mother-son two piano team Michelle Chen Kuo and Christopher Kuo, has toured the world with benefit concerts raising millions for arts education and community causes. Arturo O'Farrill is a Mexican-born pianist, composer, and bandleader, and a leading voice in Afro-Latin Jazz.
Every ticket, sponsorship, and toast helps to keep Flushing Town Hall's programming impactful and accessible to our cherished communities in Queens and NYC, and this night is our chance to celebrate that work together. Thank you.
Check out photos from last year's gala!
TABLES & TICKETS
Presenting Sponsor $15,000
Premium gala table of up to 10 guests
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Presenting Sponsor on gala webpage
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Presenting Sponsor on gala marketing collateral, including printed postcards and eblasts to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Your name or company acknowledged live during gala remarks
- Full screen ad of your name or corporate logo showcased on large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Private gallery tour with refreshments led by Flushing Town Hall Staff for you and up to 10 guests, upon request/date to be mutually agreed upon
Premier Sponsor $12,000
Premium gala table of up to 10 guests
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Premier Sponsor on gala webpage
- Your name or company acknowledged live during gala remarks
- Full screen ad of your name or corporate logo showcased on Flushing Town Hall’s large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Private gallery tour with refreshments led by Flushing Town Hall Staff for you and up to 10 guests, upon request/date to be mutually agreed upon
Event Sponsor $6,000
Gala table of up to 8 guests
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Event Sponsor on gala webpage
- Full screen ad of your name or corporate logo showcased on Flushing Town Hall’s large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
Single Ticket $375
Entry for one to the gala
ADVERTISEMENTS
Support Flushing Town Hall and highlight your name or company in our historic space full of community stakeholders, government officials, board members, and this year’s honorees.
Advertisement Benefits
- Your name or corporate logo showcased on large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Year-long Circle of Friends membership at the Ambassador level
Advertisement Levels & Dimensions
Full Screen Ad $1,500
22 Foot Width x 14 Foot Height on theater screen loop
1920 x 1080
Half Screen Ad $1,000
11 Foot Width x 14 Foot Height on theater screen loop
960 x 1080
DONATIONS
Can’t attend the gala? Please consider supporting our efforts by making a gift today. Donate here!
Thank you to our gala sponsors!
Veronica Y. Tsang, Presenting Sponsor
Kathy Donovan and Howard Graf, Premier Sponsor
Tai Wang and WAC Lighting, Premier Sponsor
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Queens Chapter, Event Sponsor
Anne and Steve Lewent, Event Sponsor
New York-Presbyterian Queens, Event Sponsor
Queens College, Event Sponsor
A Grand Night Honorees
Originally from Alpuyeca, Morelos, Mexico, Aurelia Fernandez arrived in the United States in the fall of 1983 with her three small children. It was a few days before Halloween, and she realized that there were no Day of the Dead celebrations anywhere in the NYC area. Dia de los Muertos acknowledges and celebrates one’s ancestors. Determined that her children would not lose their cultural connections and continue to feel rooted to family still in Mexico, Aurelia used her talents as a paper artist to celebrate the holiday with her children. In December, they celebrated Posadas and Pastorelas (a reenactment of the immigrant Holy Family seeking shelter), and in January, they celebrated Three Kings Day. With each holiday she shared and taught her traditions and art—first to her family, then her church, then the larger Mexican community and now to museum goers, school students, and senior citizens throughout NYC and Westchester. Through her grassroots partnerships, her artwork has helped assure that the cultural traditions of Mexico live on and add to the richness and vitality of NYC. Her work as a papier mache artist has been exhibited in museums such as the Queens Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York and The National Arts Museum of Chicago, and most recently at MexFest at Flushing Town Hall. Aurelia is a cherished FTH teaching artist, and schools return year after year to work with her, as eager students make piñatas and flowers while developing a rich appreciation of Mexican arts. Aurelia’s deep concern for her community and their need for cultural connection extends to her work to reunite Mexican migrant children with their grandparents. She also helped launch two non-profit arts organizations in the Mexican community, and she has been honored by the City Yonkers for her local community work as well as at multiple arts organizations throughout the United States and Mexico.
Resources:
Parampara: Lines of Transmission in the Traditional Arts
La Cartonería Mexicana/ Mexican Cartonería: The Mexican Art of Aurelia Fernández Marure - New York Folklore
Flushing Town Hall’s Executive & Artistic Director, Ellen Kodadek, is a first-generation American descended from fleeing refugees and Holocaust survivors. The majority of her relatives were killed in the concentration camps. Ellen has dedicated her personal mission and career to uplifting the arts and culture of immigrants, refugees and diverse communities, introducing and challenging audiences to discover themselves and one another through the arts. Kodadek was hired in 2008 to restore integrity to FTH due to multiple transitions after founder JoAnn Jones passed away. During her tenure, with the support and expertise of her team, she restructured FTH in response to significant NYC funding cuts; paid off debt inherited from the malfeasance of a prior ED; delivered budgets in the black 16 of 17 yrs; established a cash reserve and building maintenance fund; grew private and foundation support; instituted strong internal controls; completed several capital projects; added an Arts Services Dept to enhance FTH’s role as an Arts Council for Queens; led FTH through the pandemic with no layoffs; and built an experienced, passionate team supported by incredible donors and a committed Board of Directors.
As Artistic Director, along with her dedicated, knowledgeable and supportive team, she expanded service to NYC’s communities with increased family, education and cross-cultural programs; strengthened FTH Jazz by adding newer artists, and Jazz Jams, founded Queens Jazz Orchestra; developed Global Mashups, extensive partnerships, created an artist Space Grant, and added international programs for young and adult audiences. Kodadek has served as an ongoing NYSCA panelist; member of MAAF’s Jazz Touring Network; Arts Advisory Boards of the Kupferberg Center at Queens College, and Lewis Latimer House. In her career, Ellen has served as the CEO of Southern Tier Celebrates, a merger of the Binghamton Summer Music Festival and First Night® Binghamton; Strategic Planning, Operations and Programming Consultant to 171 Cedar Arts Center, Corning, NY; consultant to Lincoln Center’s Reel to Real On the Road; Director of Programs, Marketing, Public Relations and Visitor Services at Snug Harbor Cultural Center; was on the team that re-opened the Music Hall at Snug Harbor – NYC’s 2nd oldest theatre; as well as consulting for private clients. After January 2027, Ellen returns to non-profit arts consulting.
Questions? Please contact Jessica Nash at jnash@flushingtownhall.org
A Grand Night, Flushing Town Hall’s 2026 Gala
October 22, 2026
6 PM Cocktail Hour | 7:30 PM Dinner & Performances | 9 PM Dessert
Presented by Veronica Y. Tsang
Join us for this year’s gala to celebrate the art, artists, and community that make Flushing Town Hall home.
We are thrilled to be honoring two remarkable leaders in the arts: Aurelia Fernandez for her work as an accomplished Mexican paper artist, FTH Teaching Artist, and humanitarian; and Ellen Kodadek, FTH’s Executive & Artistic Director for her 18 years of tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to bringing people together through global arts. This will be a very special evening you do not want to miss!
A Grand Night will be headlined by two thrilling acts: Two Piano Journey and Arturo O'Farrill. Two Piano Journey, the mother-son two piano team Michelle Chen Kuo and Christopher Kuo, has toured the world with benefit concerts raising millions for arts education and community causes. Arturo O'Farrill is a Mexican-born pianist, composer, and bandleader, and a leading voice in Afro-Latin Jazz.
Every ticket, sponsorship, and toast helps to keep Flushing Town Hall's programming impactful and accessible to our cherished communities in Queens and NYC, and this night is our chance to celebrate that work together. Thank you.
Check out photos from last year's gala!
TABLES & TICKETS
Presenting Sponsor $15,000
Premium gala table of up to 10 guests
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Presenting Sponsor on gala webpage
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Presenting Sponsor on gala marketing collateral, including printed postcards and eblasts to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Your name or company acknowledged live during gala remarks
- Full screen ad of your name or corporate logo showcased on large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Private gallery tour with refreshments led by Flushing Town Hall Staff for you and up to 10 guests, upon request/date to be mutually agreed upon
Premier Sponsor $12,000
Premium gala table of up to 10 guests
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Premier Sponsor on gala webpage
- Your name or company acknowledged live during gala remarks
- Full screen ad of your name or corporate logo showcased on Flushing Town Hall’s large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Private gallery tour with refreshments led by Flushing Town Hall Staff for you and up to 10 guests, upon request/date to be mutually agreed upon
Event Sponsor $6,000
Gala table of up to 8 guests
- Your name or corporate logo listed as Event Sponsor on gala webpage
- Full screen ad of your name or corporate logo showcased on Flushing Town Hall’s large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
Single Ticket $375
Entry for one to the gala
ADVERTISEMENTS
Support Flushing Town Hall and highlight your name or company in our historic space full of community stakeholders, government officials, board members, and this year’s honorees.
Advertisement Benefits
- Your name or corporate logo showcased on large screen sponsor loop at the gala
- Your name or company listed in post-gala eblast to database (16,000+ contacts)
- Year-long Circle of Friends membership at the Ambassador level
Advertisement Levels & Dimensions
Full Screen Ad $1,500
22 Foot Width x 14 Foot Height on theater screen loop
1920 x 1080
Half Screen Ad $1,000
11 Foot Width x 14 Foot Height on theater screen loop
960 x 1080
DONATIONS
Can’t attend the gala? Please consider supporting our efforts by making a gift today. Donate here!
Thank you to our gala sponsors!
Veronica Y. Tsang, Presenting Sponsor
Kathy Donovan and Howard Graf, Premier Sponsor
Tai Wang and WAC Lighting, Premier Sponsor
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Queens Chapter, Event Sponsor
Anne and Steve Lewent, Event Sponsor
New York-Presbyterian Queens, Event Sponsor
Queens College, Event Sponsor
A Grand Night Honorees
Originally from Alpuyeca, Morelos, Mexico, Aurelia Fernandez arrived in the United States in the fall of 1983 with her three small children. It was a few days before Halloween, and she realized that there were no Day of the Dead celebrations anywhere in the NYC area. Dia de los Muertos acknowledges and celebrates one’s ancestors. Determined that her children would not lose their cultural connections and continue to feel rooted to family still in Mexico, Aurelia used her talents as a paper artist to celebrate the holiday with her children. In December, they celebrated Posadas and Pastorelas (a reenactment of the immigrant Holy Family seeking shelter), and in January, they celebrated Three Kings Day. With each holiday she shared and taught her traditions and art—first to her family, then her church, then the larger Mexican community and now to museum goers, school students, and senior citizens throughout NYC and Westchester. Through her grassroots partnerships, her artwork has helped assure that the cultural traditions of Mexico live on and add to the richness and vitality of NYC. Her work as a papier mache artist has been exhibited in museums such as the Queens Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York and The National Arts Museum of Chicago, and most recently at MexFest at Flushing Town Hall. Aurelia is a cherished FTH teaching artist, and schools return year after year to work with her, as eager students make piñatas and flowers while developing a rich appreciation of Mexican arts. Aurelia’s deep concern for her community and their need for cultural connection extends to her work to reunite Mexican migrant children with their grandparents. She also helped launch two non-profit arts organizations in the Mexican community, and she has been honored by the City Yonkers for her local community work as well as at multiple arts organizations throughout the United States and Mexico.
Resources:
Parampara: Lines of Transmission in the Traditional Arts
La Cartonería Mexicana/ Mexican Cartonería: The Mexican Art of Aurelia Fernández Marure - New York Folklore
Flushing Town Hall’s Executive & Artistic Director, Ellen Kodadek, is a first-generation American descended from fleeing refugees and Holocaust survivors. The majority of her relatives were killed in the concentration camps. Ellen has dedicated her personal mission and career to uplifting the arts and culture of immigrants, refugees and diverse communities, introducing and challenging audiences to discover themselves and one another through the arts. Kodadek was hired in 2008 to restore integrity to FTH due to multiple transitions after founder JoAnn Jones passed away. During her tenure, with the support and expertise of her team, she restructured FTH in response to significant NYC funding cuts; paid off debt inherited from the malfeasance of a prior ED; delivered budgets in the black 16 of 17 yrs; established a cash reserve and building maintenance fund; grew private and foundation support; instituted strong internal controls; completed several capital projects; added an Arts Services Dept to enhance FTH’s role as an Arts Council for Queens; led FTH through the pandemic with no layoffs; and built an experienced, passionate team supported by incredible donors and a committed Board of Directors.
As Artistic Director, along with her dedicated, knowledgeable and supportive team, she expanded service to NYC’s communities with increased family, education and cross-cultural programs; strengthened FTH Jazz by adding newer artists, and Jazz Jams, founded Queens Jazz Orchestra; developed Global Mashups, extensive partnerships, created an artist Space Grant, and added international programs for young and adult audiences. Kodadek has served as an ongoing NYSCA panelist; member of MAAF’s Jazz Touring Network; Arts Advisory Boards of the Kupferberg Center at Queens College, and Lewis Latimer House. In her career, Ellen has served as the CEO of Southern Tier Celebrates, a merger of the Binghamton Summer Music Festival and First Night® Binghamton; Strategic Planning, Operations and Programming Consultant to 171 Cedar Arts Center, Corning, NY; consultant to Lincoln Center’s Reel to Real On the Road; Director of Programs, Marketing, Public Relations and Visitor Services at Snug Harbor Cultural Center; was on the team that re-opened the Music Hall at Snug Harbor – NYC’s 2nd oldest theatre; as well as consulting for private clients. After January 2027, Ellen returns to non-profit arts consulting.
Questions? Please contact Jessica Nash at jnash@flushingtownhall.org
