Tickets on sale for first-ever Meaghan’s Music Room charity gala

Organizer Mary Balinov seeking sponsorship from local businesses

By Zachary Roman

A fabulous night of dinner, drinks and dancing in support of a good cause is coming soon.

On February 25, the inaugural Meaghan's Music Room charity gala will be held at Caesar's Centre in Bolton. The dinner and dance is being held in support of the people with physical and intellectual challenges that Meaghan's Music Room serves.

The event begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails and an open bar; dinner will be served at 7 p.m. and then guests can dance the night away. There will be a silent auction at the gala, as well as a 50/50 draw.

Mary Balinov, who is in charge of the registered charity Meaghan's Music Room and is very excited to be hosting a gala fundraiser for the first time, explained the pandemic was hard on the charity, and some corporate sponsors were lost. The gala is going to be the charity's big fundraising event for 2023 to make up for lost time.

Balinov operates Tisho's Music Academy in Bolton with her family, and they have a dedicated music room there to provide subsidized music classes to those with physical and intellectual challenges they serve through Meaghan's Music Room.

There are six different organizations whose participants enjoy classes at Meaghan's Music Room: White Birch Day Program from Palgrave; Growing Opportunities for Adult Life Skills (GOALS) from Bolton; Cassie's Place in Southfields Village; St. Michael Secondary School in Bolton; and two different locations of Brampton Caledon Community Living. 

“These organizations would not be able to afford these activities if we were not subsidising their fees, and there's a lot to subsidise,” said Balinov. “Every month, we teach over 150 individuals.”

Balinov explained some participants come to classes at Tisho's, while other times, instructors will travel to the organizations to deliver classes to participants.

Balinov's son, Kristian, is in charge of instructing all the music classes. Something new being offered by Meaghan's Music Room is dance classes, which were highly-requested by the organizations served. Balinov's daughter, Diana, is a certified dance teacher and now delivers dance classes through Meaghan's Music Room.

“The individuals that we help under this charity are all individuals with special needs that are now legally adults… and because they are legally adults, they get no more government funding,” said Balinov. “So without our help, the organizations and parents… there would be very little that they would be able to afford without Meaghan's Music Room subsidising these fees.”

Those interested in buying tickets for the event can email meaghansroom@gmail.com or text Balinov at 416-509-0321. Tickets are $135 per person. Those interested in sponsoring the gala or donating items for the silent auction can reach out by the same two methods mentioned above.

There are three unique tiers of sponsorship available for the gala: Chopin ($1,000), Mozart ($3,000), and Beethoven ($5,000).

“We of course recognize our sponsors, their logos will be displayed throughout the entire gala,” said Balinov. “They will also permanently go on our website as a major supporter of Meaghan's Music Room.”

Since this February's event will be the first ever Meaghan's Music Room gala, Balinov said it's extra important for her to spread the word about it and that businesses will be the key to the charity's bottom line.

“In order for us to continue our services for 2023, we absolutely need this gala to be a success,” said Balinov. “And we can't do that without community support.”