MEMPHIS, Tennessee, April 1, 2008 – It will be a magical night at Shelby Farms Park on Friday, April 18 at the annual GreenShoe Gala. Lovers of Shelby Farms Park can dance the night away, enjoy a sumptuous organic meal and watch the sun go down from a beautifully decorated tent overlooking Patriot Lake.
“The GreenShoe Gala is a wonderful event,” said Sheila Wilson, event coordinator, GreenShoe Gala. “We have the best view in the city and people can enjoy a wonderful dinner, live music and even pretend to be Cinderella when we auction off a ‘green’ shoe.”
For the second year, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy will auction off a green shoe. This year’s shoe is made of reclaimed metal and even has some historical parts. The wrought iron on the soles of the shoes came from the steel rafters of the First United Methodist Church which burned down to the ground in 2006. The church was originally built in 1893. The shoes also contain cast iron screws from lamps that date back to 1924. The lamps were from the Lincoln American building in Downtown Memphis. Local artist Jim Masterson, a blacksmith at the Ornamental Metal Museum, designed and built the shoes.
“This was a great project,” said Jim Masterson, designer. “It probably took me about 100 hours of work to create these. The shoes get their purple and green sheen from being baked in the oven for four hours at 500 degrees. The inspiration for the design of the shoes came because tools allow me to be creative. It just seemed natural to want to fuse the tools into the body of the shoes to forge an object of desire.”
One of the shoes will be auctioned off at the GreenShoe Gala. The other will be on permanent display at Shelby Farms Park.
Live music will be provided by Memphis music star Andy Childs, who appeared in 2007 with his band Sixwire on Fox’s The Next Great American Band. There will also be a variety of other auction items – all with a ‘green’ connection.
The GreenShoe Gala is Shelby Farms Park Conservancy’s annual fundraiser. All the proceeds will go to the 4,500 acre park. Tickets to the GreenShoe Gala are $250 or $2,500 for a table of 10. Anyone interested in buying tickets to the event can call Katasha Madyun at (901) 767-PARK.