WLS to Hold Tenth Annual Art-Fest
By Debra Roberts Ries, WLS President

The Women Lawyers of Sacramento (WLS) is holding its Tenth Annual Art-Fest fundraiser on the evening of Friday, October 3, 2003, at the beautiful Julia Morgan House and Gardens, located at 3731 T Street, Sacramento. Formerly known as the annual "Oktober-Art-Fest," the event has traditionally featured German Oktober-Fest style cuisine, beer and music.

This year, WLS has parted with tradition and will forego the German cuisine and "oompah" band music. However, as in the past, the event will include showings by local artists, a highly popular Silent Auction, catered buffet and hosted wine and beer. Jazz music will be provided by Zika Zaka.

This is the third consecutive year in which the event is being held at the Julia Morgan House, one of Sacramento's most architecturally distinguished homes. Designed by Julia Morgan, who is still regarded as America's greatest female architect, it was built in the early 1920's as a private residence for Charles Goethe and his wife, Mary Glide Goethe. In 1966, the home was bequeathed by Goethe to California State University, Sacramento, in a will providing that future uses of the house that would contribute to the well-being of children and the elderly. Located in the historic Elmhurst neighborhood, the Julia Morgan House is an ideal and beautiful setting for WLS's annual Art-Fest.

Julia Morgan was the first woman licensed to practice architecture by the State of California and was also the first woman to be awarded a degree by the prestigious Ecole des Beaux Art in Paris. A formidable pioneer of equal opportunities for women in the professions, Morgan had a distinguished career spanning 50 years in which she designed and built more than 700 buildings, most notably the William Randolph Hearst estate at San Simeon. The Geothe residence is the only example of Morgan's residential architecture in the Sacramento region. The home was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1982.

Proceeds from the Art-Fest fundraiser will go to the WLS Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, which awards the scholarships to qualifying local area law students. In addition, the Foundation makes grants to local nonprofit organizations benefitting women and children. In the past, the Foundation has awarded grants to such organizations as: WEAVE, Wellspring Women's Center, Women's Wisdom Project, Linkage to Education, Maryhouse, Mustard Seed School, the Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocate Program (CASA), the Center For Citizen & Law-Related Education and the Voluntary Legal Services Program.

September / October 2003