2025 Avalon Theatre Gala
May 4 was a special evening for the Avalon as we celebrated our 13th Gala with nearly 400 members of our community. This year’s gala raised over $190,000 to support the theater and its Cinema Classroom at the Avalon program!
The program began with our in-house production of The Cinema Classroom Experience (can be viewed below) which gave our audience an inside look at our student film education program.
Special guest and author of Nora Ephron at the Movies, Ilana Kaplan, then guided the audience through an in-depth exploration of the life and work of the visionary writer and director highlighted by iconic clips from When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, Julia and Julia, Heartburn and Michael.
If you were unable to attend the gala, please consider contributing to our Cinema Classroom at the Avalon program, which in its 12 years of existence has brought the educational value of film to over 17,000 students from every DC ward. Your contribution will help fund this free program (including bus transportation).
There are many people to thank for making the evening such a success. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who joined us, as well as those who could not attend but generously made donations.
We would especially like to express our appreciation to the event underwriters for their invaluable support. The list of underwriters appears below.
We hope you enjoy the photos of the event from our talented photographers, Caitlin Oldham and Sandra Files.
About Ilana Kaplan
Brooklyn-based writer and culture editor Ilana Kaplan is a self-proclaimed fan of romantic comedies, especially those from the mind of Nora Ephron.
Ilana has worked for publications including PEOPLE, Alternative Press, The Independent and PAPER. Her work has been published in the New York Times, New York magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, GQ, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Pitchfork, Variety, and Billboard. Nora Ephron at the Movies is her first book.
We Thank Our Generous Underwriters!
CORPORATE UNDERWRITERS
Screenwriter
INDIVIDUAL UNDERWRITERS
Gala Star
Jodie Levin-Epstein & Barry Zigas
Producer
Lynn & Bill Choquette
Donetta George
Live to Give Equity & Justice Fund
Beth Wehrle & Matthew Miller
Cinematographer
Lisa Banks & Linda Correia
Carl & Courtney Bergeron
Circle Yoga & Opening Heart Mindfulness Community
Patricia P. Karp & Judith A. Powers
Ann Pelham & Bob Cullen
Molly & Raymond Ruppert Jr
Meg & Mark Ruppert
Screenwriter
Marion C. Blakey
Phyllis & Barry Caldwell
Connie K.N. Chang & Nathaniel G. Pearlman
Heather & Chris Davenport
Ron & Diane Eichner
Martin Hahn & Colleen Martin
Sarajane Johnson & Arthur Goldberg
Joshua M. Levin & Debra Fried Levin
Cathy MacNeil-Hollinger & Mark Hollinger
Elias Savada
Daniel & Jane Solomon
Randy Speck & Samantha Nolan
Dr. Maria Turner
Ken & Dorothy Woodcock
Host Committee
Lisa Banks & Linda Correia
Subhashini Bollini
Connie K.N. Chang & Nathaniel G. Pearlman
Sally Courtney
Toby & Daniel Edelman
Stephanie & Tope Folarin
Jon Grossman & Jaime Banks
Aviva Kempner
Amy & Andrew Mack
Judith & Richard Meltzer
Mary Louise Mitterhoff
Lynn Palmer & Bob Peck
Margaret Parsons
Susan & David Reichardt
Ruth Robbins
Jan Solomon & Kenneth Simonson
Daniel Spealman Jr & Kristi Maasjo
Randy Speck & Samantha Nolan
As of 5/1/25
Cinema Classroom at the Avalon is a free program teaching visual literacy and critical thinking to 6th-12th grade students from across the District of Columbia.
Twelve films are presented each school year, each focusing on social justice and human rights issues. In advance of each screening, we offer curriculum guides linked to DCPS standards. Each screening is followed by an interactive discussion with a subject matter expert.
About the Avalon Theatre
The oldest operating movie house in the Washington, DC region, the Avalon Theatre has been a cornerstone of its community since opening in 1923.
After the theater was abruptly closed in 2001, a grassroots effort by the newly formed Avalon Theatre Project successfully restored the theater and it reopened in 2003.
The non-profit, historic Avalon Theatre is a 102-year-old community-supported film center in Chevy Chase DC that entertains, educates, and inspires the people of metropolitan Washington, DC through the magic of cinema.