DUBUQUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AUXILIARY

DUBUQUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AUXILIARY. Tireless supportive arm of the DUBUQUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Through a variety of imaginative and highly successful projects, the Auxiliary has raised thousands of dollars in support of live classical music in Dubuque. Formed in 1967 with a charter membership of two hundred thirty-three, the Auxiliary's first challenge led to the number of ticket holders soaring from three hundred thirty to over nine hundred. Sell-out seasons became common.

Under its first president, Catharine Adams, the Auxiliary raised $1,486 during the opening of the Kennedy Road Cinema Theater on May 30, 1968. Other successful fund-raising events have included OKTOBERFEST dances at the Fairgrounds, Beaux Arts costume balls at the Julien Hotel (now HOTEL JULIEN DUBUQUE), used book sales, and tours of homes.

In 1971 the first Flavor of Dubuque cookbook was published with its historical memorabilia, local recipes, and art. During eleven years, sales of an estimated eleven thousand books brought the Auxiliary forty thousand dollars. The 1981 Designer Showcase of the redecorated home of Esther and Sun Hwan Chi on Arrowhead Drive brought the Auxiliary a profit of twenty thousand dollars over a three-week period with the help of two hundred volunteers. In 1983 Another Flavor of Dubuque was published by the Auxiliary under the direction of Esther Chi and the publication committee of Martha WHITIS and Audrey Mortensen.