Nelson helps bring lights of Paris to Lied Center in Lincoln

Auroran Deb Nelson had the opportunity to help bring a touch of the romance and magic of Paris to Nebraska recently. 
Nelson, owner of Touch of Health Day Spa, is president-elect of the Friends of the Lied board and was co-chair for the organization’s annual fundraising gala held Feb. 1 at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts in Lincoln. Musicians, trapeze artists and other entertainers were all part of the festive event that took place on the massive stage of the Lied Center. While Nelson has helped with the gala before, this was her first year as a co-chair, and she said it took a massive amount of planning and coordination. 
“The theme this year was Paris Lights,” she said. “We modeled it after Moulin Rouge, because that was going to be in residence for two weeks after the gala, starting Feb. 4. And we did kind of an immersive experience with accordion players, artists painting and music.”
Musicians were hired to play during the cocktail hour and dinner, and dancers performed on a stage in the round. 
“Along with the dancers, there was an aerialist who performed from a trapeze over the tables,” Nelson added. “During dinner, we had both a silent and a live auction. And then after dinner, there was a club that was set up with dancing. And again, the aerialist performed on a contraption she has – she calls it the ‘lollipop’ – where she does twirls and things on this piece of equipment in the club. And then there was also music on the stage that people could stay and listen to.”
The popularity of the gala this year led to some last-minute scrambling on the part of the organizers, according to Nelson. After meeting the initial challenge of setting up 400 seats on stage for the gala, they learned that the event had sold out in eight days and another 60  table seats were needed. That led to the removal of three rows of seats in the house in order to put in the additional tables. She said while seats have been removed at least two other times in the 35-year history of the Lied, this was the first time they had been taken out in order to put in tables for the gala. While the proceeds of the event are still coming in, Nelson said approximately $170,000 has come in so far.
Nelson is in year three of her first six-year term on the Friends of the Lied board, which has 54 members from across the state.