EVENT REPORT 12.07.09 4:17 PM MTV Dance Crew and 30 Cakes Mark Pan-Mass Challenge Anniversary
“This is an example of what is possible when people work together,” said Bill Starr, founder and executive director of the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, of Saturday’s $270 million check presentation to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund.
The 30th anniversary celebration for the fund-raising bike-a-thon was held at the House of Blues, where nearly 800 denim-clad cyclists and volunteers gathered to commemorate 30 years of riding and a total of $270 million raised for cancer research over the life of the Pan-Mass Challenge. This year’s fund-raising total topped $30 million, the third largest in the event’s history and the single largest contribution to the Jimmy Fund this year.
A wall of 3-D psychedelic portraits in the House of Blues lobby served as a backdrop for the check-in area. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
Cocktail tables filled the main floor and were later cleared for dancing. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
High-top tables covered in brightly colored linens and scattered with Pan-Mass Challenge water bottles lined the balconies. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
The buffet dinner included catfish, grilled beef tenderloin, and grilled vegetables. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
Nearly 800 cyclists and volunteers sat down to a casual dinner while a photo slide show played on stage. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
Energetic band Eye2Eye covered upbeat Top 40 and pop songs and pulled guests onto the stage for a dance party. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
Volunteers, joined by dance troupe Status Quo, shot T-shirts into the crowd. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
Pan Mass Challenge founder and executive director Bill Starr presented Dana Farber president Dr. Benz with a $270 million check—the total raised for the cancer research center over P.M.C.'s 30-year history. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
Pan-Mass Challenge celebrated 30 years with 30 polka-dot birthday cakes. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
Volunteers handed out reusable Stop & Shop bags with Pan Mass Challenge T-shirts inside to departing partygoers. Photo: Avirian Levy for BizBash
The event, produced by Rafanelli Events, was a thank-you to the riders, Starr said, and also provided stewardship for the group. The Pan-Mass Challenge hosts a check presentation event each year, typically of the smaller, more formal type, but this year’s was larger and dressed down. The $75 ticket included beer and wine served by House of Blues’ cocktail waitstaff, passed appetizers including beef skewers, quesadillas, and crab cakes, and an ice cream sundae bar.
The stage was set with eight vertical Pan-Mass Challenge banners and a screen that showed photos of past rides and events. While a Rafanelli-produced lineup of ’70s songs came early in the evening, after dinner the soundtrack gave way to live dance-friendly songs from the band Eye2Eye.
Next up was a rousing acrobatic performance by Status Quo—a Boston-based hip-hop troupe and runners-up on the first season of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew—followed by the night's biggest highlight: Starr presented Dana-Farber president Dr. Edward Benz with an oversize $270 million check as riders, volunteers, and dancers crowded the stage, and waitstaff paraded out with 30 birthday cakes.
As for fund-raising in a recession, Starr said the group saw the same number of donors—nearly 5,000 cyclists from 36 states and eight countries—write slightly smaller checks. “Sure, the numbers went down a bit. But that’s like saying, ‘You won the gold medal, but you didn’t set a world record.’”
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