ATLANTIC CITY — The Atlantic Cape Community College Restaurant Gala, the region’s premier formal fundraising event, celebrated its 29th anniversary Thursday evening, March 22, at Bally’s Traymore Ballroom.

The 2012 event featured delectable hors d’oeuvres prepared by Academy students, and showcased the specialties of 50 of the region’s best restaurants at a progressive dining experience.

Click here to see a photo gallery of the event. For a video of the event, click here.

The event also included top-of-the-line entertainment, dancing and a “dessert extravaganza” coordinated by Master Chef Eugen Ess, the executive pastry chef of the Trump Taj Mahal.

Since its inception the Gala has raised more than $2.5 million for scholarships at the Academy of Culinary Arts, Atlantic CapeCommunity College and Atlantic Cape Foundation operations.

This year alone the Gala raised $140,000.

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ATLANTIC CITY — Over 150 guests gathered at Casa Del Cielo, home of Atlantic City philanthropists Gary Hill (far right, above) and John Schultz (far left) recently to experience Atlantic Cape Community College’s “Panorama of Possibilities.” The event was the latest in a series of activities in the series of programs called “Create Opportunity: The Capital & Scholarship Campaign for Atlantic Cape Community College,” sponsored by the Atlantic Cape Foundation and the college.

To date, Atlantic Cape and the Foundation have raised nearly $1.8 million of the $2.5 million goal in the college’s first capital campaign. Atlantic Cape’s Capital & Scholarship Campaign began in September 2009 and is expected to conclude in March 2013. The campaign offers investors recognition opportunities, and invites donors to support Atlantic Cape students through the creation of scholarship programs.

The Panorama of Possibilities event showcased a variety of core programs and new initiatives at Atlantic Cape. Guests were treated to gourmet delicacies prepared by Academy of Culinary Arts students, a dramatic performance by the college’s Performing Arts Club and speeches by Atlantic Cape students and alumni, who discussed their experiences at Atlantic Cape and how receiving support from college-based financial assistance programs made achieving their higher education goals a reality.

To learn more about Atlantic Cape’s Capital & Scholarship Campaign and other investment opportunities, call (609) 463-3670, e-mail mkellett@atlantic.edu, or go here for more information.

Tickets are now on sale for southern New Jersey’s premier fundraising event for students in the culinary field — the 29th annual Atlantic Cape Community College Restaurant Gala — scheduled for Thursday, March 22, at Bally’s Grand Ballroom.

This year’s theme is “Dine Like Royalty” and promises to be the region’s crowning event in 2012, featuring lavish décor, trumpeters and a sumptuous feast.

The annual event showcases food by serving thousands of hors d’oeuvres prepared by students from the Academy of Culinary Arts, and featuring the culinary specialties of more than 40 of southern New Jersey’s finest restaurants at a progressive dining experience. An elegant dessert extravaganza will complete the night’s events.

Each year hundreds of guests attend the Gala, which also features several genres of live music, including the bands Don’t Call Me Francis, Sensational Soul Cruisers, Ocean City Pops, and Lenny Mitchell.

The event has raised more than $2.5 million since 1984. Gala proceeds benefit student scholarships at the Academy of Culinary Arts and Atlantic Cape Foundation operations.

Tickets to the Gala are $200 per person and can be ordered by calling (609) 463-4672, e-mailing acccfdn@atlantic.edu, or going here.