Big Laughs And Bigger Hearts Made Mahaiwe's Annual Gala A Success
Comedian John Mulaney and dedicated supporters helped the Great Barrington theater raise an impressive amount.
The evening's honoree, Maggie Buchwald [center] with the gala's co-chairs, Sandy and Ron Ashendorf
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington’s jewel of a building brought back from the brink 15 years ago, honored one of its founding board members, Maggie Buchwald, on Saturday, Aug. 10. A true believer since the beginning, Buchwald also served as the non-profit’s chair of the board from 2013–2018. The gala began with cocktails and dinner under tents on the lawn across from the theater. Around 300 guests enjoyed a meal catered by Peter Platt of The Old Inn on the Green. A sold out performance by comedians John Mulaney and Seaton Smith capped the evening, which raised more than $450,000 for the theater’s programming, including $90,000 earmarked for a new digital cinema system.
![The evening's honoree, Maggie Buchwald [center] with the gala's co-chairs, Sandy and Ron Ashendorf](https://www.ruralintelligence.com/content/images/2025/11/mahaiwe2019_ashendorf_buchwald_ashendorf-3.jpg "The evening's honoree, Maggie Buchwald [center] with the gala's co-chairs, Sandy and Ron Ashendorf")
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Matteline deVries-Dilling, founder of Lite Brite Neon, one of the evening's honoree of this year's Upstate Benefit adresses the gala from the Caboose's caboose.
- Karen Pearson. Courtesy Art Omi.
Olana senior vice president and landscape curatorMark Prezorski, president Sean Sawyer, The evenings honoree Kristin Gamble and New York State Assemblymember Didi Barrett.
- Oxygen House Photo
