Moondance

Moondance returns to The Heard Museum on Saturday, October 24, as the museum's signature fundraising event and largest annual gala. It's the night the Heard puts its full focus on its core mission: connecting Indigenous creativity to the world through the voice and vision of American Indian artists.

This year's honorees are David & Weezie Reese and Tony Abeyta (Diné), with Arlene Ben-Horin and Jeri Y. Ben-Horin serving as co-chairs. The gala is a fundraiser for the museum, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit that's been one of Phoenix's anchor cultural organizations for 95 years, welcoming around 140,000 visitors to its eight-acre downtown campus. The proceeds help offset the more than $2 million the museum invests annually in artists and cultural partners.

Past honorees give you a sense of the company this year's names join. The list includes Joy Harjo, N. Scott Momaday, Sonwai, Doug Hyde, Richard Chavez, Dan Namingha, Denise Wallace, Joy & Howard Berlin, and the late Jesse Monongye (Hopi/Navajo). It's a long record of poets, artists, and cultural figures from across the American Indian community.

Moondance starts at 6 PM at The Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004. Tickets are $300 per guest.