CALABASAS : Opening of Gallery to Raise Funds for Park

The owners of a new art gallery slated to open in Calabasas this weekend say they will donate 10% of the proceeds from the grand opening to a planned city park.

Alexis Alexander and Raymond Hellen, operators of the Blue Moon Gallery, say they hope Saturday’s event will raise $5,000 for Juan Bautista DeAnza Park.

“That amount could go even much higher, depending on how many people show up, and what they buy,” Alexander said. “The more we sell, the more the park will have.”

There will be various artworks on sale, ranging from pieces priced at a few hundred dollars, she said, to an original nude by artist Tom Wesselmann valued at $50,000.

The grand opening will run from 6 p.m. to midnight at the gallery, 23504 Calabasas Road in Old Town. Scheduled to attend the free event are artists Michael Bryan, Aldo Luongo, Susan Rios, Christina DeMusee, Tobias Keane, Linnea Pergola, Stephanie Farago and others, Alexander said.

There will also be hors d’oeuvres and live entertainment by the Floyd Sneed Blues Band, said Alexander. Sneed is formerly of the rock group Three Dog Night.

Blue Moon Gallery will showcase works by famous names as well as works by emerging artists, said Alexander.

Original sculptures and paintings will be carried, along with limited edition serigraphs and lithographs.

“I used to get involved in charities, up in Santa Clarita, where I had a gallery for five years,” she said. “I just like to get involved in charities that benefit the community. The park is ripe; it’s ready. It needs funds and that’s why we’re doing it.”

The $2-million park is funded through a Los Angeles bond measure, Proposition A, which sets aside money to build parks, said Calabasas City Manager Chuck Cate. Any amount raised by the gallery would go to fund items not paid for through the bonds.

“It could be used to enhance the park, and do something we hadn’t planned on in the original budget,” he said.

The 8 1/2-acre park, at the corner of Las Virgenes and Lost Hills roads, will be opened sometime next year, Cate said. It will include a recreation center, a conference room, office space and a kitchenette. There also will be a picnic area and barbecue pits that can accommodate as many as 200 people.

Alexander said she and her partner, who owned a gallery in Beverly Hills for seven years, chose Calabasas because they like the quaint character of Old Town.

“I just love the feel,” she said. “I didn’t want to be in a strip mall.”

“It’s nice that people in the business community are willing to help out and do something nice for the community,” said Greg Johnson, Calabasas’ community services director. “We really appreciate it.”