Rowdy Rainmakers

Art + Advocacy raises a joyful noise — and half a million bucks

Photo by Robert Bostick
Photo by Robert Bostick
Photo by Robert Bostick
Photo by Robert Bostick
Supporters bid on works donated by local galleries such as Conduit, HollyJohnson, Craighead Green and Barry Whistler.
Photo by Robert Bostick
Photo by Robert Bostick
Photo by Robert Bostick
Photo by Robert Bostick
Art + Advocacy raised more than $500,000 for Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.
Photo by Robert Bostick

There is no more heart-warming way for art to align with charity than at the annual Art + Advocacy benefit. Highlighting the unique role art therapy plays in healing child abuse victims served at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, this annual event, held this year at Fashion Industry Gallery, tends to evoke a particularly emotional response from attendees.

This year the stakes were even higher, as the center is moving to spacious new digs on Samuell Boulevard in 2013. Works of mixed media, oil, pencil and photography from established and emerging artists donated by galleries such as Conduit, Craighead Green, Kirk Hopper, Holly Johnson, andBarry Whistler drew frenzied bids in both the live and silent auctions.

An anonymous donor contributed $25,000 on the day of the event, and auctioneers Ed Beardsley ofHeritage Auction Galleries and Gail Sachson of Ask Me About Art didn’t have much trouble convincing the crowd to participate in a “Call for Cash” that this mysterious benefactor promised to match. The effort drew donations of $2,500 a pop as the seconds ticked by.

For Courtney Sinelli, who attended with her husband, Which Wich founder Jeff Sinelli, the cause had a personal resonance. “When I was a lawyer, I volunteered to do the family violence cases,” she said. “We lost almost every case because the victims wouldn’t testify. This cause has always been close to my heart, and I want to work to dedicate more time to it.”

The event was so festive that the crowd needed a reminder to stop socializing and pay attention to the final moments of the auction. One attendee made a generous offer of $50,000 in return for relative silence until the auction’s end.

For the center’s art therapist, Julie Espey, the evening was a success beyond the more than $500,000 final tally. “By integrating art into therapy, you can recognize the resiliency and healing that take place with each child,” she said. “Art is a profound natural form of communication.”

Supporters of the Children’s Advocacy Center included Tamara and John Bickel, Brian Bolke, John Clutts, Ginny and Mark Fein, event chairsLindsay and Chuck Jacaman, Patricia Meadows, Laura Noble, Marlene and John Sughrue, Lisa and John Runyon, Ree and Jason Willaford, and Cris Worley.

unspecified

Celebrity wedding

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders star marries sweetheart on New Year's Eve

undefined

A Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders alum whose proposal was featured on the Netflix series America's Sweethearts married her own sweetheart on New Year's Eve: Kelcey Wetterberg wed Nate Crnkovich in a dreamy, two-day affair on December 30 and 31, 2024, in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

People magazine has the exclusive story and photos, captured by DGass Photography.

The couple first exchanged vows in an intimate service at a Roman Catholic Church on December 30. The next day was a bigger ceremony and rockin' party - 300 guests filled Omaha's Leo Ballroom for a New Year's Eve reception that included a six-tier wedding cake and a performance of "Thunderstruck" by Kelcey and her DCC pals.

"This wedding is a dream come true," the bride told People. "My wedding day is always something I wondered about as a young girl. .. but I don't think I ever could have imagined one as beautiful as this. God couldn't have given me a better husband!"

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by People Magazine (@people)

Kelcey, a DCC team captain ("first-group leader") who cheered for five years, became a breakout star ofAmerica's Sweethearts and was featured prominently on Netflix show promos. Her romance with Nate, his proposal at the Dallas Arboretum in 2023, and their engagement party were highlights of the final episode of the season, titled "Sisters for Life."

Kelcey hung up her DCC uniform and works as a pediatric RN nurse; Nate is an actor and traveling nurse. The couple call Dallas home, but when it came time to plan their wedding, they chose Omaha - where they grew up 15 minutes from each other.

The New Year's Eve wedding celebration had an "old Hollywood vibe," with classic décor in black, white and silver, People says. Prior to the reception, the couple exchanged private, handwritten vows during an intimate "first look" and then said their vows for the congregation beneath an archway of white florals.

"Marriage to me is about dedicating your life to someone else and two people putting each other's needs above their own," she told People. "Promising your life to someone in front of God and staying true to that promise is such a beautiful representation of service to the highest degree."

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by David Gass (@dgass_photography)

For the ceremony, Kelcey wore a pearl fit-and-flare wedding dress with a trumpet skirt designed by Essense of Australia, the magazine reports. "She originally ordered a different wedding dress over the summer, but unexpectedly fell in love with her gown while shopping at House of Bridal in Oklahoma City," People says. The original dress became her rehearsal dinner dress.

But there was one more outfit change in store.

For the New Year's Eve party-reception, Kelcey slipped into another dress by Essense of Australia that featured sleek spaghetti straps with sparkly beading and a dramatic low-illusion back.

"It is absolutely perfect for a New Year's Eve send off! It adds a little glitz and glam to the end of the night but still feels so elegant," the bride gushed to the magazine.

It was also perfect for a performance of the iconic "Thunderstruck" number alongside her fellow Cowboys cheerleaders.

"It's a tradition to do it at all of our weddings!" the bride says.

Kelcey is the second America's Sweethearts star to tie the knot in the past year; her fellow DCC cheerleader Reece Weaver got married in April 2024.

Read more about Kelcey and Nate's wedding, and what their future holds, in People.

Kelcey Wetterberg, Nate Crnkovich, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders wedding

Photo by DGass Photography via People magazine.

Kelcey Wetterberg and Nate Crnkovich were married in a two-day extravaganza, December 30 and 31, 2024.

celebrities sports dallas cowboys cheerleaders weddings