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AFRICAN RAINFOREST
CONSERVANCY'S 23rd ANNUAL
ARTISTS FOR AFRICA BENEFIT
The African
Rainforest Conservancy (ARC) hosted its 23rd Annual
Artists for Africa Benefit at The Bowery Hotel in New York
City on Wednesday, January 29th. Executive
Director Whitney Larkin welcomed
over 200 guests including Cassandra
Seidenfeld, Renee
Adrienne Smith, Bravo’s ‘Shah’s
of Sunset’ star Mercedes
“MJ” Javid, Bravo TV
star Chanel
Omari and model Morgan
O’Connor. Host Carter
Coleman kicked
off the evening alongside Master of Ceremonies Thomas
J. McGrath to
honor Thomas
Kaplan with
the New Species Award and
Sarah
Collins with the Environmental Innovation Award. . This
year's African Rainforest Conservancy benefit was dedicated
to the late-Advisory Board member James
Gandolfini. For the past two decades, over $1 million
has been raised to support grassroots community development
projects and conservation in East African rainforests.
Highlights of the
night included an a cappella song in Zulu by Thuli
Dumakude, an
African dance by Manekadang
African Dance and Drum, with
a DJ set and performance by Cary
Nokey. The
Pointy Snout caviar and champagne reception featured a
silent auction, showcasing the works of over two-dozen
celebrated artists including Dustin
Yellin, Anne
Koch, Spencer Tunick, Hunt
Slonem and Erik
Parker, followed
by a live auction and dinner. The evening was sponsored
by The Bowery Hotel, Extraordinary
Journeys, Gardenia
Organic, Hahn
Family Wines, Industry
City Distillery, Nihiwatu
Resort, Peak
Organic, Tirado
Distillery, Selous
Safari Company, Coastal
Aviation, and Paddle8.
For over 20 years, The African Rainforest
Conservancy has worked alongside its field partner the Tanzania
Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) to
support a network of 140 villages in eight mountain and
coastal regions throughout Tanzania that are protecting
3,000 square kilometers of forest – an area 1,000 times the
size of New York’s Central Park. For more information on the
African Rainforest Conservancy please visit
www.africanrainforest.org .
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