Art Van Furniture party draws more than 1,000

Proceeds from 50th birthday bash go to charity

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, October 2, 2009

Debbie Van Elslander, left, Art Van Elslander, model Cindy Crawford and Sandra Seroka attend Art Van Furniture’s 50th anniversary celebration Thursday. Seroka and Debbie Van Elslander are Art Van Elslander’s daughters.

WARREN, Mich. — Art Van Furniture drew a sellout crowd to its 50th birthday bash here Thursday, the first of three store parties planned this month with all net proceeds going to charity.

More than 1,000 business leaders, celebrities including model Cindy Crawford and Jonas Jerebko of basketball's Detroit Pistons, and other friends turned out for the event. They were entertained by the Il Circo performance troupe and a 14-piece band.

A local television station broadcast the event live from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with interviews with founder and Chairman Art Van Elslander and others, and a retrospective on the Top 100 company.

Proceeds from tickets sold to the event are going to the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center and the Neuroscience Institute at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

The 50th anniversary galas here and at the Art Van stores in Flint, Mich., Oct. 4, and Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 28, are expected to raise more than $500,000 for several charities and draw some 2,800 people.

The parties are a culmination of a months-longs anniversary celebration, during which time Art Van has made numerous donations to charities, including a $1 million, 50-hour benefit for 50 nonprofit organizations in Michigan.