The Night
An evening designed from the ground up to make generosity feel natural.
This Is Not a Typical Charity Gala
From the moment you hand your keys to the valet, you are inside an experience that has been designed, thought through, and built to make you feel something — and to make you do something.
The Cedar Room is transformed into something extraordinary — think Beauty and the Beast Castle: deep candlelight, rich florals, dramatic uplighting, marquee lights, and a room that doesn't look like it did when you walked in.
The Doors Open
You arrive to complimentary valet at The Cedar Room on East Bay Street. No hunting for parking. No waiting in line. You hand off your keys and walk straight into the gala.
The room during cocktail hour is alive. The Radiance Lighting team has transformed the space — dramatic uplighting, marquee lights, the full atmosphere in place before the program even begins.
Four Experiences. One Unforgettable Hour.
The Ice Sculpture Luge Bar
A custom ice bike sculpture anchors a cocktail station where guests pour martinis through the luge. The first thing most guests gravitate toward — and one of the things people talk about long after the night ends. Open until 7:30 PM.
The Garden Wall
The most photographed moment of the evening. An 8-foot grass wall in a dramatic gold frame. Ring a bell. A white-gloved hand presents you with a signature cocktail. Every single person pulls out their phone.
The Caviar Tasting Station
Elevated, unforgettable, and a genuine conversation starter. You take your caviar tin home — a keepsake from the evening.
The Hand-Rolled Cigar Station
A professional cigar roller crafting fresh cigars on-site. The guests who find this spot tend to stay for a while.
And through all of it — from arrival through the program — Warrick McZeke is performing live.
Most people don't want to leave cocktail hour
when dinner is called.
The Room Comes Together
There is no traditional stage at the front. Instead, beautifully arranged tables positioned so everyone is close. Everyone can see the stage.
VIP Legacy couples are seated at tables of 10 at the front, directly in front of the stage. Every table has an 8×10 table sign. Your menu card is at your seat. Dinner is served. The room settles into one of the best meals guests will have all year.
The Program Begins
The emcee takes the stage. This is the moment the room shifts from a beautiful party to something with genuine purpose.
The mission story is told — not as a sales pitch, but as a real story about real children in Charleston who have never owned a bike, and what it means when they get one for the first time. The energy changes.
The Live Auction
This is what the room has been building toward. The auctioneer takes the stage. Paddles go up. The energy — which has been building since 6 PM through cocktails, food, music, and mission storytelling — reaches its peak.
Legacy couples, seated together at the front, are aware of each other. They compete — not out of ego, but because the room pulls generosity out of people when it is done right. Someone bids. Someone bids higher. The whole room watches.
Heads or Tails
The whole room gets on its feet.
Volunteers swarm the room with baskets, selling blinky rings. The most chaotic, joyful, crowd-wide moment of the night. Guests who have never met each other are competing, laughing, and cheering.
It is impossible not to be involved. It is impossible not to have fun.
2,500 bikes funded in one night.
That's the goal.
Warrick McZeke, Dancing & Silent Auction Close
Warrick McZeke owns the room from here. The dance floor opens. The silent auction tables reach their close. The 360 photo booth is still running — every video shared to social media.
The combination of great music, the energy of a room that has just given generously, and the mission photographs around the room creates something that feels genuinely different from any other event in Charleston.
The Closing Champagne Toast
The program concludes with the most heartfelt moment of the night. Champagne is raised. The room is reminded of what just happened — how many bikes were funded tonight, what those bikes mean to the children who will receive them.
Then the program concludes. Guests pick up their valet tickets and leave knowing they were part of something real.
A Room of People Who Want to Give
The Going Places Gala works because it is designed from the ground up to make generosity feel natural. The experiences create warmth before anyone is asked for anything. The stage keeps the program intimate with 250 guests. The Legacy couple seating drives competition in the auction. The entertainment sustains energy through the giving moments.
This is not a room of people being politely asked to give. It is a room of people who want to give, surrounded by an environment that makes giving feel exciting.
Attire: Black Tie Optional
Suits are perfect. This is an elevated evening — The Cedar Room dressed in its fullest breathtaking transformation. Come ready to be part of something beautiful.
The riders who pedal away — for the first time,
on their very own bike — are the reason
every person in that room showed up.
Be Part of the Night
One extraordinary night fuels an entire year of transformation.
"This is our biggest, boldest, most exciting gala to date. One extraordinary night fuels an entire year of transformation."
— Katie Blomquist, Founder and Executive Director