Derby Gala Scheduled in Bradford

The Bradford Area Public Library is sponsoring a community-wide gala, which will coincide with the Kentucky Derby in May, to benefit its endowment fund and raise residents’ awareness of the services the library provides.

The Derby Day Gala will be held on Saturday, May 2, at the Bradford Club. At the event, guests will watch the race, sample Southern-style cuisine, sip mint juleps and participate in other Kentucky Derby-related activities. An additional event – the Derby Chapeau Tea – will be held on March 29, and will enable participants to make Kentucky Derby-like hats in anticipation of the gala.

Tickets for the gala will be available starting Feb. 16 and can be purchased at the library. Tickets are $50 per person.

“The idea for the gala came during a meeting of the library’s honorary board of trustees,” said Madeline Miles, a library board member. “The honorary trustees wanted to create an event that would make people more aware of all the library offers, provide much-needed funds for the facility, and be fun and exciting for those who attend.”

“Our hope is that the Derby Day Gala will be held annually and generate excitement each year in the community,” she added.

Money raised at the gala will benefit the library’s endowment fund, which was created in 1984 by Virginia Loveland Miles, Madeline Miles’ mother. In more recent years, income generated from the endowment has been used to close the widening gap between ever-rising costs and unpredictable funding, explained Linda Newman, the library’s director.

“Increasing the size of the endowment ultimately will increase the income it can generate,” Newman said. “Any increase will help strengthen the library’s overall financial health.”

Despite its fragile and unpredictable funding situation, the library continues to provide all of its services to the community.

But it hasn’t been easy, Newman said. There have been additional expenses recently and others loom on the horizon, she added. Only generous donations from members of the community made it possible to replace carpeting in some of the more heavily used parts of the building and to continue upgrading the computer system. Utility costs are rising, of course, and the building is 17 years old.

However, she and the gala organizers are hopeful that the annual event will help ease the library’s financial burdens. This year’s fundraising goal is $35,000, Newman said, adding any additional income generated from the endowment will be used to help improve a variety of services and address rising costs.

“The endowment has been and continues to be our lifeline,” she added.

For more information, contact Newman at the library at 362-6527.