Lucy Daniels Raises over $100,000

Photos by Kate Medley Photography.

Cary, NC—The Lucy Daniels Center has done it again with their third annual Expressions benefit. The sold out Celebration of Food and Art raised more than $113,000 to support children’s mental health and education. This was the second year in a row that the event sold out.

Lucy Daniels Center Raises over $100,000

Held October 11, 2013 at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, Expressions engaged the evening’s guests in the creative collaboration of fine jazz and fine cuisine. The Center’s Family Support Fund helps close the gap between what families can afford to pay for the Center’s child mental health services and their actual cost.

Singer Nnenna Freelon Collaborates with Chefs

Guests were treated to insights from a featured artist of extraordinary talent and visibility: six-time Grammy Award nominee Nnenna Freelon. With more than a dozen albums and many notable collaborations to her credit, Ms. Freelon proved to be an inspired choice for this event.

Chef Scott Crawford, one of the masterminds behind the event concept, shares “What I hope people feel when they experience the dish are some of the things I felt by being around Nnenna, spending time with her and being inspired by her. She is very warm and you are very comfortable with her immediately and I’m thinking the dish will be the same.”

Expressions explored several themes in Ms. Freelon’s work culminating in a five-course dinner prepared by Crawford, The Umstead’s executive chef, and a team of renowned chefs: Curtis Duffy of Grace restaurant in Chicago, IL; Steven D. Greene of An Cuisines in Cary, NC; Daniel Benjamin, pastry chef of The Umstead Hotel and Spa and Herons; and Francisco Almaguer, pastry chef of An Cuisines. The chefs worked closely with Ms. Freelon in preparation for the meal.

Speaking of her experience, Ms. Freelon said “I am honored to be selected as the featured artist for Expressions and to support and celebrate a cause I care deeply about: the healthy development of young children. Working with this group of lauded chefs and having my musical expressions represented so—deliciously!—is a unique opportunity for me as an artist.”

Honorary co-chairs for this year’s event were Candace and Michael Olander, who serve on the Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, respectively.

The Lucy Daniels Center is located in Cary, and serves children throughout the Triangle both at the center in in outreach programs in elementary schools.

Lucy Daniels Center Raises over $100,000

Singer Nnenna Freelon Collaborates with Chefs

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