The City Gala, which has a vision to advance community through humanitarian events, has announced plans for its 2nd annual event. On February 12, following the 59th Annual Grammys, exclusive media sponsor Entrepreneur Magazine will present the second annual City Gala event at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. The event will include a red carpet, plenary presentation, celebrity meet and greet, live entertainment and a silent auction.
On the heels of a 2016 event that included Sir Richard Branson, Jane Seymour, and many others, City Gala is pleased to present its 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award to legendary producer, entertainer and philanthropist Quincy Jones. Named by Time Magazine as one of the six most influential Jazz artists of the 20th Century, Quincy Jones is an impresario in the broadest and most creative sense of the word. Over six-decades Jones’ career has encompassed the roles of composer, record producer, artist, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, TV producer, record company executive, television station owner, magazine founder, multi-media entrepreneur and humanitarian.
Even more important to the focus of City Gala, however, is his lifetime of commitment to philanthropy, beginning with civil rights work in the 1960s with Martin Luther King and proceeding through a spectrum of endeavors including the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation that has built more than 100 homes in South Africa and provided intensive support in technology, education, culture and music for South African youth.
Jones was responsible for what is perhaps the most seminal philanthropic endeavor in the history of music by spearheading the recording of “We Are the World,” which featured a large gathering of celebrity musicians including Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie and Paul Simon and produced $63 million to address hunger in Ethiopia. He has worked tirelessly within a spectrum of programs including NAACP, GLAAD, The Peace Games, AmFar and the Maybach Foundation and others.
John Paul DeJoria, philanthropist and business leader most known as the co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and Patron Spirits, will present Quincy Jones as a Lifetime Achievement Honoree at the 2017 City Gala event.
Said DeJoria, “I consider Quincy Jones to be a good friend to everyone, and am especially honored to present him with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement award. Even more than his record of 27 Grammy wins, his devotion to philanthropy through the Quincy Jones Foundation and in efforts to address cancer, malaria, and as an activist for children makes him the ideal recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award.”
Jeff Timmons, of the Grammy-nominated pop group 98 Degrees, will return to the City Gala 2017 as emcee and best-selling author and business conference leader Greg S.Reid, will moderate the event.
Says City Gala founder and executive producer Ryan Long, “We are tremendously honored to present the 2017 program in support of the International Arts & Philanthropy Foundation (IAP), which provides funding in support of arts, education, early childhood development, as well as the Breed Life program which supports and facilitates the gift of life through live organ donation.”
In the coming days, City Gala will announce additional keynote speakers and special guest appearances for the 2017 event.
2nd Annual City Gala.
Sunday, February 12th at Music Center’s
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S. Grand Ave. Los Angeles CA 90012
7:00 PM, Red Carpet
Dress: Formal, Cocktail