Dress in whatever you feel is comfortable for a special Gala event!

The Annual Gala is black tie optional, with those that enjoy a tux choosing to don them and those that do not opting for other attire. We expect everything from cocktail dresses to sparkly gowns and everything in between. 

The Temptations are world-renowned superstars of entertainment, revered for their phenomenal catalog of music and prolific career. They are one of the most iconic, bestselling brands in the entertainment world today. While the group has evolved over the years, Dr. Otis Williams has continued to lead the group and carry the torch forward for the next generation of Temptations’ fans. The Temptations are headlining concerts around the country throughout 2023.  Their concerts include fan favorites such as “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me),” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” and more.

Ranked #1 in Billboard magazine’s most recent list of the “Greatest R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of All Time,” The Temptations also appear in the magazine’s 125th Anniversary list of the “125 Greatest of All Time Artists.” The group celebrated their 60th Anniversary in 2021-2022. To mark this milestone, The Temptations released a new album, Temptations 60, executive produced by founding member, Otis Williams.  The new album consists of nearly all-original songs that are both modern and classic in feel and sound.

Throughout the group’s evolution, The Temptations have released more than 50 Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum awards all combined, many of which are considered American masterpieces. The Temptations are the recipients of numerous awards and honors. They have been awarded five Grammy® Awards, including the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Grammy® Award. The Temptations delivered Motown’s and their first-ever, Grammy® for their song, “Cloud Nine.” “My Girl,” what many call their magnum opus, was inducted into the Grammy® Hall of Fame in 1998, followed by “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” a year later in 1999.  In 1989, The Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Blockbuster #1 chart hits “Just My Imagination,” “Papa was a Rollin’ Stone,” and “My Girl” are among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.” The Temptations have 16 No. 1 R&B chart albums, 44 Top 10 R&B chart hits, including, 14 No. 1 R&B singles, plus four No. 1 Hot 100 singles.

The Temptations’ heritage, influence, and contributions to, not only American culture and African American communities but also to the global music landscape are monumental. The Temptations’ presence in the world today has never been more vivid, and their popularity is ever-increasing.

The quartet, originally called the Four Aims, made their first single for Chess in 1956, and spent seven years on the road and in nightclubs, singing pop, blues, Broadway, but mostly jazz—four-part harmony jazz. When Motown’s Berry Gordy Jr. found out they had hustled a national “Tonight Show” appearance, he signed them without an audition to be the marquee act for the company’s Workshop Jazz label. That proved short-lived, and Stubbs’ powerhouse baritone lead and the exquisite harmonies of Fakir, Benson, and Payton started making one smash after another with the writing-producing trio Holland-Dozier-Holland.

Their first Motown hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving” in 1964, made them stars and their sixties track record on the label is indispensable to any retrospective of the decade. Their songs, soulful and bittersweet, were across-the-board successes. “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” a no. 1 R&B and Pop smash in 1965, is one of Motown’s longest-running chart toppers; it was quickly followed by a longtime favorite, “It’s The Same Old Song” (no. 2 R&B/no. 5 pop). Their commercial peak was highlighted by a romantic trilogy: the no. 1 “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love” (no. 2 R&B/no. 6 pop) and “Bernadette” (no. 3 R&B/no. 4 pop)—an extraordinary run of instant H-D-H classics. 

Please check in upon arrival. Tickets for the Gala will be distributed that evening upon arrival. 

If you are a sponsor, tickets will be reserved under your name. Please distribute the tickets to your guests while seated together at dinner. 

If you are a guest of a sponsor, the host of your table will receive all tickets when they check in and provide them to you during dinner.

If you are a Concert ticket holder, your tickets will be reserved under your last name.

The Center is located at 800 Bay Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor, Michigan. The Bay Harbor community is just west of Petoskey and east of Charlevoix on US 31.

As you turn from US 31 into the Village at Bay Harbor at the US 31 traffic light, you will be on Bay Harbor Drive. As you head down Bay Harbor Drive, you may find parking for the Center on your right in the GLCFA Main Parking Lot, with overflow in the lot to the south (towards US 31).

Please see map below indicating where you may park your vehicle. Reserved spaces for handicapped patrons are located in the front row and the first four parking spaces of the Main Parking Lot. In addition, the Center’s porte-cochère may be utilized for easy drop-off at the main entrance to the building. We will have a GEM car available to help escort guests between the parking lot and Center.

The concert begins at 8:30PM sharp. Late attendees will need to wait to be escorted into the theater.

Our live auction with a variety of exciting packages will be held immediately following the VIP Dinner in the Community Engagement Room. All bidding will be done live at the event.

For any questions, please contact the Development Office at 231.439.2601 or gala@greatlakescfa.org