On December 3, The MacDowell Colony celebrated its Centennial by hosting a Gala at Roseland Ballroom in New York City.  The Gala was attended by 500 guests raised nearly $900,000 for the Colony.  Artists and friends celebrated the Colony's first 100 years and toasted the second century at this magnificent celebration of the arts that will long be remembered.  Ruth Feder, Tom Putnam, and Helen Tucker were Centennial chairs.

The evening's program was co-hosted by: Robert Klein, Robert MacNeil and Calvin Trillin
Program entertainers included:                                        -                                          - Rachel Weisz reading from Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones;
Toni Morrison introducing Angela Brown;
Angela Brown singing Richard Danielpour's new opera Margaret Garner with Laurie         Rogers on piano
Elaine Stritch reading from Spalding Gray's "Monster In A Box"
Jock Soto and Darci Kistler of NYC Ballet doing excerpt from Leonard Bernstein's
West Side Story;
Brooklyn Youth Chorus performing an excerpt from Bernstein's Mass.

As the MacDowell Colony proudly carries on the work begun one hundred years ago, through the extraordinary vision of Edward and Marian MacDowell, they will continue to nurture and encourage the spirit of innovation – the stock in trade of creative artists – and to support their efforts through ours.