Centre Safe’s Twilight Dinners to return after 2-year hiatus with a new format

The Twilight Dinner series has long been a prominent fundraiser for Centre Safe, Centre County’s primary resource for survivors of sexual or domestic violence. While the COVID-19 pandemic brought the annual, traditionally springtime dinner series, often hosted by community members in private homes, to a halt in 2020, the fundraising initiative is back for a new year. This summer, it offers a new format and more flexibility for guests and hosts alike than ever before.

“We’ve been thinking for a long time (that) we needed to take Twilight Dinners out of just an April-May time frame and really do it year-round,” Centre Safe Executive Director Anne Ard said.

And that’s exactly what Centre Safe is doing. The first Twilight Dinner in more than two years is slated for June 18, in the Boal Mansion’s historic ballroom. The planned “Champagne and Candlelight Dinner” will include a Champagne cocktail hour and dinner for up to 25 guests; guests will be permitted to wander the mansion throughout the event, and speak with docents, who will be on-site.

After that will be a July 22 Garden Gala that will take place at a private home in State College, with beverages provided by Big Spring Spirits and catering from Laura’s Home Cooking. The event is open to up to 45 guests.

Later Twilight Dinners are anticipated for the fall and Centre Safe is looking for more willing hosts to add to the lineup. Now, hosts can choose to either open their Twilight Dinner event to the public or host a private event just for a set number of friends or family members. Hosts receive full endorsement to be as creative as they would like for their event and event theme. For example, Debbie Shephard, one of Centre Safe’s board members, plans to host a farm-set Twilight Dinner event in the fall. Past hosts have held garden party-style events, while others have hosted kid-friendly backyard barbecues.

“We can walk (hosts) through the whole process … We want to be as helpful as we can be. We will help with invitations and getting the word out, but we want the host to be as creative as they want to be, whether they’re cooking at home or working with a caterer. There are lots of options,” said Ard. “We can give them ideas of things that have happened before, but really what they need to do is to pick a date, think about what you want to do and we’ll help you make it happen.”

Hosts for public Twilight Dinners are welcome to put COVID-19 precautions in place, such as hosting their event outdoors, requiring guests to be vaccinated or whatever other precautions hosts feel are necessary. And for those who would rather host a private event for friends or family, rather than a themed public event, Shephard clarified that the process is as easy as inviting a few people over for a meal or get-together like you might normally host, just with the added bonus of making a $100-per-person donation to Centre Safe.

Tickets for each Twilight Dinner event are $100 and $75 of each ticket is a tax-deductible contribution. Typically, Ard said, in years past, the spring Twilight Dinner season would raise $20,000-$30,000 for Centre Safe, across 10–15 events.

Last fall, Centre Safe did organize a small, Twilight Dinners-inspired fundraiser, christened First Course, which partnered with local restaurants to offer hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, with ticket prices benefiting both Centre Safe and local eateries. The event raised approximately $5,400.

However, events such as these aren’t just important as a fundraising initiative. Ard also explained that they’re vital to getting the word out regarding what Centre Safe is and does.

“It’s a way for us to talk to people about the work that we do, so that they can support it in a variety of ways and, all of a sudden, (in March 2020) we weren’t able to do that anymore. That was really the hard part in terms of not doing the Twilight Dinners. There was lost income, certainly, but there was also lost connection, and that was hard,” she said.

Making that connection is also the reason Shephard chooses to host a Twilight Dinner event.

“It’s really important for me to get the word out to people, because I don’t think people understand everything that Centre Safe really does,” she said. “I don’t think people understand the need that we have in this community. People look at us and say, ‘Penn State’s here. Everything’s wonderful and perfect,’ but the reality is that, unfortunately, hard things happen here. Bad things happen and a place like Centre Safe is there.”

She added: “The reason I like this event is because it’s a chance to educate people one-on-one, sitting there and chatting with them. They’re coming to an event where they can enjoy themselves, but it also gives us the floor.”

For more information about upcoming Twilight Dinners, to buy event tickets or to host an event, visit www.centresafe.org. And, if you don’t see an event you’d like to attend at the moment? Ard recommended checking back regularly.

“If you don’t see something that fits your schedule, or matches your eating preferences, or you’d rather do a backyard barbecue than a candlelit, sit-down Champagne dinner, then check back,” she said.

This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 8:00 AM.