On April 1, 2009, there was no “April fooling” but a whole lot of monkey business going on when the Avian and Primate Institute hosted their first fundraising event at the Ashland House Restaurant. Set in the delightful ambiance of the restaurant, complete with good food and fine service, it was a fun night and excitement for all who attended.
The silent auction tables were filled with a great variety of gifts, including a night on the town donated by Onyx Limousine complete with dinner donated by Taste of Texas. Sasha, the 4-month old Brown-Tufted Capuchin wanted to help and she created a delightful painting for the auction.
The highlight of the evening was the “Let’s Make a Deal if the Price is Right” game show hosted by API President, Robert Williams and Houston’s own “Cher”, entertainer extraordinaire Lana Blake. In between exciting live musical numbers, there were some great prizes won, including hundreds of dollars worth of free dry cleaning donated by Stanley Cleaners.
Houston PetTalk’s own Michelle Mantor graced the event and went home with the Monkey Biz prize pack from the auction table. Receiving the coveted Monkey’s Uncle award, were Troy and Gwen from TGR Exotics for their dedicated help in moving two black bears and a 36-year old chimpanzee to a new home in Oklahoma. Tim and Diane Wells also received this prestigious award for sponsoring the event. You can find out how you too can receive this award by visiting www.avianprimateinstitue.org.
Next up API will present a “Casino Night” filled with great prizes, lots of entertainment and good food and the opportunity to interact with several of monkeys and exotic birds. Stay tuned to the pages of Pet Talk for exact dates and time of this fun-filled summer event. These events help API fulfill their mission of helping birds, primates and their owners when needed. API is also available for educational animal interactive presentations. For more information you can email them at Robert@avianprimateinstitute.org or call 713-620-8704.
It was a great night and I can’t wait for their next event. Not only did I have lots of fun, I won some great prizes and this organization works hard to take care od animals in need.
Wow, what a night! For a first event API sure knew how to pull out all the stops. Their entertainment was superb. Cher had a terrific voice, she sounded just as good or better than the original. I took home a great painting from the silent auction at a great price.
Having the pleasure of being around many exotic pet owners at once was in fact a great experience; talking and conversing with them was a lot of fun. The food and drinks were great and plentiful. The auction went very well! I loved all of Cher’s costumes. This event was worth while. I cannot wait until “Casino Night”!
I also had a great time. The atmosphere was wonderful, as were the people working, and the gracious hosts. I could tell all of the attendees had a great time interacting with the give-away gameshow, the in between entertainment, and of course the great food (my favorite was by far the Nachos.).
Had a great time, everything was fun and great food! API did a great job with this event. As someone mention, can’t wait for Casino night.