Disco in the Desert

Child Crisis Arizona, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the well-being and safety of children and families, will host its milestone 47th annual signature fundraising gala – Disco in the Desert – at the JW Marriot Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale on March 29, starting at 6 p.m. The Disco in the Desert will take place entirely under the stars and feature larger-than-life experiential moving art installations, live music, casino gaming tables, a multi-course gourmet dinner, and more.

According to Taj, in the past 12 months alone, Child Crisis Arizona served over 48,000 individuals statewide through education, prevention, and intervention programming. In addition, the organization acquired Whispering Hope Ranch, a 45-acre ADA-compliant ranch in Payson that hosts camps for medically-fragile children and adults, while also opening the doors to its 2.4-acre, 38,000-square-foot Center of Child & Family Wellness campus, which centralized operations and is currently leveraging synergies with partner organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona, United Food Bank, Ballet Arizona, Free Arts of Arizona, Gabriel’s Angels Pet Therapy, and more. They also became one of just 12 Head Start programs nationwide to earn national accreditation, the only organization in Arizona to do so.

Guests who attend the event will surely catch a Saturday Night Fever from the entertainment in every direction throughout the evening. Rather than hosting a traditional cocktail hour and then seated ballroom dinner, Disco in the Desert will take place entirely outdoors across the expansive terraces at the JW Marriot Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. The evening will kick off with a laundry list of inspired activations, notably stilt walkers dressed to look like giant disco balls who will act as interactive art installations. They will be complemented by professional dancers performing for the crowd as well as getting a little audience participation for those who are game.

Additional wow factor will come thanks to an award-winning caricaturist who will draw guests’ portraits on commemorative event coasters during the cocktail party. Lauded artist Michael Feather will also be featured at the event. In fact, he will be live painting the Disco in the Desert scene during the cocktail hour and then auctioning the piece off later in the night.

There will also be both blackjack and roulette gaming tables for prizes, a 70s-themed photobooth, and a silent auction boasting more than three dozen packages and VIP experiences from Course, STK Steakhouse, Westin Kierland, Hotel Valley Ho, JW Marriott, Las Palomas Rocky Point, Kendra Scott, Arizona Snowbowl, Valley Youth Theatre, the Champagne Train, Real Results Medical Aesthetics, Farm at South Mountain, local and regional wineries and golf courses, and many more.

Live music will be featured throughout both the reception and dinner thanks to The JJ’s Band, a high-energy nine-piece band set to play both the biggest hits of the disco era as well as funkified takes on all-time chart-toppers.

The Disco in the Desert is made possible by the generous sponsorship of General Dynamics, Olsson Family Foundation, BOK Financial; CHASSE Building Team, Enterprise Bank & Trust, The Mahoney Group, Nationwide, Nautilus Insurance, Wilde Wealth Management, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dickinson Wright, Snell & Wilmer, the Brad & Ellen Soultz Foundation, and many more.

Individual tickets for Disco in the Desert tickets start at $500 each, and tables start at $5,000. Individuals or business interested in sponsorship opportunities should contact at Laura Ryerson at [email protected].

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.childcrisisaz.org/discointhedesert.