ART START AT METROPOLITAN PAVILION

NEW YORK’S EVENT SITE OF THE YEAR HOSTS CHILDREN’S CHARITY

METROPOLITAN PAVILION
125 WEST 18TH STREET
BETWEEN SIXTH & SEVENTH AVENUES
Wednesday, 20 October 2004; 6:30pm-9:30pm

PRESS CONTACT KRISTINA RATLIFF 212. 645. 8006

NEW YORK: Metropolitan Pavilion, a New York City landmark special event venue located at 125 West 18th Street between Sixth & Seventh Avenues, will host Art Start’s The Giving Tree to take place on Wednesday, October 20th, 2004 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Hosted by Board Chair Kerenne Rossi and Board Member Joseph Ungoco, The Giving Tree will be the first leaf to fall in a series of charitable cocktail parties to raise funds and awareness for Art Start initiatives for underserved young people. As mother nature paints her canvas with the delights of autumn Art Start helps spark the artistic talents of young people to burst into an equinox of colorful dreams. Sponsored by Metropolitan Pavilion, Scharff Weisberg, and Absolut. All proceeds go directly to efforts to produce positive change. Tickets may be purchased for $50 at the door. For more information please contact Joseph Ungoco at 212. 842. 5179. Interested media should contact Kristina Ratliff by telephone at 212. 645. 8006 or via ratliff@workhousepr.com.

Art Start
Since 1991, Art Start has provided free multidisciplinary arts programs to underserved young people from each of the five boroughs of New York City.  Art Start’s diverse constituency is comprised of disadvantaged youth, ages 3-20, including homeless youth, students from the City's Beacon schools and "last chance" high schools as well as young people who are at risk of violence related to drugs, gangs and desperation.  In each of Art Start’s four programs: Arts in the Shelters Program, Mentoring Project, Media Works Project and Hip-Hop Project, Art Start’s staff and a roster of 300 volunteer artists work with underserved youth to ensure that their goals are realized through the creative process. For these efforts Art Start received a 1997 President’s Service Award, CBS’s 2003 “Fulfilling the Dream” Award and for the last two years has been honored with the National Endowment for the Arts Certificate of Excellence. Last spring, Arts in the Shelters Program Director, Margot Liebman, also received a PASEsetter award from the Partnership for Afterschool Education.  For more information about Art Start’s work and programs please go to www.art-start.org.

Metropolitan Pavilion
Awarded “Event Site of the Year” by Event Solutions Magazine in 2003, Metropolitan Pavilion is where events make history. From the Chocolate Show to the launch of Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, Metropolitan Pavilion has emerged as one of downtown’s top event spaces. The main hall has elegant polished oak floors highlighted by charming Corinthian columns, original to the turn-of-the-century building, which lend a texture of rich character creatively offset by two separate lobbies. The inviting South Lobby possesses a crisp, contemporary look, complete with bright mint-green terrazzo floors that sparkle with inlaid seashells, high white walls and burnished silver accents. A sophisticated gateway, the stylish North Lobby blends vintage industrial loft elements with modern effects. These include pinpoint spots which shine over diaphanous metal scrims. The entire ensemble is seemingly cocooned within an atmosphere of blue and gray hues. For more intimate affairs, Metropolitan Pavilion offers their pristine upper-story Gallery. With windows located on three sides, the multi-functional space allows for sun-bathed daytime events or nightly urbane city views. The stunning white-polished, high-gloss of its clean resin floors resembles poured milk and guarantees that every event sparkles. With an Art Deco exterior facing downtown and a glorious Beaux Arts exterior facing uptown, Metropolitan Pavilion is surrounded by the finest boutiques, art galleries, retail shopping and nightlife that New York City has to offer. With its combination of unbridled flexibility and style, Metropolitan Pavilion is unrivaled, one of the City’s most versatile and reliable event spaces for gala benefits, corporate dinners, fashion shows, cocktail receptions, wine tastings, product launches and media events. For more information please visit www.metropolitanevents.com.

Alan Boss
Armed with street smarts, an economics degree from City College, and a pioneering spirit, Bronx-born urbanite Alan Boss has been described by Empire Magazine “A remarkable entrepreneur who built a retail empire without any bricks or nails”. A son of a grocer, Boss cultivated his readiness to experiment with just about anything to make money as long as he didn’t need to wear a suit. From hauling furniture to managing a fruit and vegetable stand, Boss has reinvented himself many times over before trailblazing his career in 1976 one early Sunday with the birth of Annex Flea Market. As Founder and President of the Metropolitan Pavilion, which was awarded 2003 Event Site of the Year, Events Solutions Magazine, one might say that Alan Boss is in the business of filling empty spaces. To schedule an appointment with Alan Boss interested media should contact Kristina Ratliff at Workhouse Publicity by telephone 212. 645. 8006 or via email at ratliff@workhousepr.com.