THIS WAS NOT YOUR ORDINARY GALA!

May 8, 2004

Make no bones about it…Project Exploration’s ‘Dinner with a Dinosaur IV,’ held this past Saturday at the Garfield Park Conservatory, lived up to its theme “No Ordinary Gala!”

The sold-out event treated more than 400 guests—including IL State Senator Barack Obama and CEO of the Chicago Park District Tim Mitchell—to an amazing night of reptiles, food, and fun. The event raised the nonprofit $208,000 for its programming.

John Lanzendorf, one of Chicago’s top stylists and a founding board member for Project Exploration, was honored with the organization’s inaugural “Compass Award” for guiding the organization on its path to success.

Highlights of the evening included Sereno’s dramatic unveiling of a 90-million-year-old predatory dinosaur which will be officially announced to the press later next month. The dinosaur will be on display to the public at the conservatory beginning mid-June.

Click on any of the images below for a larger view