Medical professionals gather for a cause in Santa Rosa

Effervescent aperitifs launched a party Saturday night at the historic DeTurk Round Barn that feted 85 years of life-enhancing volunteer service by an organization with many doctors and spouses on board, and quite a long name.

Gala85 was an elegant, triumphant production of the Sonoma County Medical Association Alliance & Foundation, founded in 1930 to improve the health of the county’s children and adults.

Saturday’s celebration began on the restored barn’s second floor, where guests savored cocktails and passed appetizers while perusing opportunities for buying in to special future gatherings. Supporters of the SCMA Alliance & Foundation had agreed to host a dinner or a hike, a painting or Raku workshop, a women’s retreat or other fun event.

As time approached for the dinner and program, the well-dressed crowd replete with members of local medical families returned to the barn’s main floor. A live auction wrapped up with an appeal for funding for the longstanding SCMA Alliance & Foundation programs that support foster children, oppose bullying and distracted driving, and provide scholarships to young people pursuing health-related careers.

Then it was time to dance.