A sold-out crowd of more than 700 people attended the 35th annual Hispanic Foundation Ball on Saturday night in downtown San Jose, cementing the event as one of the longest-running and most successful fundraising galas in the valley.

Ron Gonzales, CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, credits the organization’s success — and by extension, the longevity of its gala — to a pivot the organization made more than a decade ago that refocused its mission. The foundation emphasized supporting education, especially STEM education, creating a pipeline to colleges and Silicon Valley companies while also continuing programs to prepare more Latinos to be leaders in the community.

“Fifteen years ago, I challenged the leadership to change and we did it,” said Gonzales, a former San Jose mayor. “We provide our scholars with opportunities that funnels them toward industries. If you look at our list of sponsors, you see names that get it.”

Those names included presenting sponsor Amazon, Comerica Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Alaska Airlines and PG&E — among many others.

The foundation has taken on an important advocacy role for Latinos in the valley, too. The foundation tracks how the Latino community is faring with the Latino Report Card, prepares future board members with the Latino Board Leadership Academy, spotlights diverse voices with the Latinx Speaker Series and helps students plan their future with the Hispanic Foundation College Success Program and the Latinos in Technology Scholarship.

So that was a lot to celebrate Saturday night at the Hispanic Foundation Ball, and tickets went fast. If you don’t want to miss the 36th annual event, mark your calendar for Oct. 4, 2025.

ARTISTIC TRIBUTE >> The Institute of Contemporary Art San Jose was hopping Saturday night, as well, with more than 150 people attending the annual benefit art auction at the ICA’s downtown gallery in the arty SoFA district. The stylish sale brought in more than $100,000 after expenses for the gallery and the artists who contributed pieces.

There were more than 60 works up for bid, plus a few experiential items, and many of the artists who contributed work were there. The ICA San Jose has really been building this event up over the past three years, with caterer Smashed Plates serving up chicken and waffles and a group from Campbell-based law firm Sweeney Mason serving custom cocktails as “pro bono pours.”

The evening also was a tribute to San Jose State University Associate Professor Binh Danh, who had several of his daguerrotype images on display. Danh, whose family escaped Vietnam when he was a child and emigrated to the United States, is a big name in photography, with a permanent collection at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Art.

Unsurprisingly, the most active lot in the live auction was one of his original Yosemite works, with a bidding war commencing. Just as it looked like it was coming to an end, the artist threw in a portrait session and the bidding flared up again. The losing bidder on that lot did get a nice consolation in winning the next one: a private tour of the ICA exhibition Binh Danh: Works from 2006-2024 with the artist, curator Zoë Latzer and ICA board member Jackie Whittier Kubicka.

Of course, the exhibition is available for anyone to see through Feb. 23, 2025. The ICA San Jose is admission free and is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

LOOK OUT BELOW! >> The Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos has its Halloween decor in place for its Haunted Hangar exhibit, which runs through — you guessed it — Halloween. This weekend, that also includes a kids festival on Saturday and Sunday, and the highlight of the day each weekend is the Helicopter Pumpkin Drop at noon. If you’ve seen it before, you know that pumpkins really can fly — it’s just the landing on the airport tarmac that gets messy. Check it out at hiller.org.

Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@bayareanewsgroup.com.