My name is Dale Huggins, and along with my husband, Jonathon Todd, we have been tasked to chair the annual coveted UMLAUF Garden Party celebrating the 31st year of the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum in Austin, Texas that will be held on April 20, 2023. Garden Party is set up as an elevated food and wine culinary experience with Austin’s finest restaurants set in the luscious sculpture garden next to the iconic Zilker Park where SXSW is hosted. We have already secured an incredible group of iconic Austin chefs to serve at Garden Party including Uchi, Shore, Salt Traders, The Grove, Jack Allen’s Kitchen, Trulucks, Odd Duck, Juliet, Paperboy, and the highly anticipated Uchibā, just to name a few. 

This is UMLAUF’s biggest event of the year, and is well known as the opening spring social event in Austin, offering an impressive selection of bites by Austin area culinary geniuses with wine pairings from long-time supporter, Twin Liquors. The UGP has been listed as the “must-attend social event” by Culture Map Austin attracting central Texas foodies, philanthropists, and art enthusiasts.

We have secured incredible partnerships with luxury brands like Auberge Commodore Perry Estate, Four Seasons Austin, Lake Austin Spa and Resort, Simon Group’s The Domain, the new Loren Hotel, and have maintained a long history of support from Twin Liquors, HEB, and Titos, among many others.

There are four different manners in which one could offer their support for Garden Party; Direct Sponsorship, Live and/or silent auction item donation, restaurant participation, and guest attendance. We’ll have close to 800 guests at the event this year, but the longterm local exposure is much larger, reaching tens of thousands. Certain levels of Sponsorship of the Garden Party receive year long promotion at UMLAUF general and outreach programming, and all levels include VIP tickets and recognition before, during, and after the event. Please click on any hyperlink for more detailed information, or simply visit https://www.umlaufsculpture.org.

Longtime UMLAUF supporter and Austin curated Tribeza (see our first of 3 promos on page 15), Giant Noise Media and the brilliant folks at Wunderman+Thompson have been preparing to launch a massive PR campaign, as well as an enormous banner visible to all Barton Springs traffic at Azie Morton Rd. The PR campaign will include a press release, social media onslaught with event promoters, strategic influencers, and all of their own social media channels. Target media and outlets include CultureMap Austin, Tribeza, Texas Monthly, KXAN, KVUE, CBS Austin, Austin Monthly, and the Austin Monitor. We’d love to be able to include your company in them!  

As we are designated a 501 c(3) nonprofit, funds raised at this event benefit 1) youth programming including Camp UMLAUF, Shaping Space serving children in Title I schools throughout Austin, our annual free Fall Festival called StrawFest where more than 2000 guests get to enjoy the garden with their families, and field trips to learn more about sculpture, art, nature, and the history of the UMLAUF family. 2) The UMLAUF’s community programs, including free monthly Family Days, bi-monthly UMLAUF After Dark series, Museum Days and Wellness programs. 3) Artist exhibits and Insights where the public can meet the artist and learn about the inspiration behind the art. 4) Sustainability and preservation of this iconic local landmark, the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum.