On April 5, the Delphi Opera House hosted their second annual Legacy event. The night featured Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Delphi alumnus Abbie VanSickle, as well as Brian Lamb, the founder of C-SPAN. During the event, they were interviewed by WLFI anchor Jeff Smith. The event was organized and sponsored by the Delphi Opera House and the Delphi Preservation Society. 

Abbie VanSickle graduated from Delphi High School in 2000. Out of high school, she pursued an education in journalism at Northwestern University; later, she studied law at UC Berkeley. VanSickle is now a staff writer for the California-based Marshall Project. In 2021, she won a Pulitzer Prize for a year-long investigation into injuries caused by police dog bites.

Brian Lamb is an alumnus of Lafayette Jefferson High School and the founder of C-SPAN. Lamb founded the network in 1979, and has since acted as the CEO, the president, and a member of its Board of Directors. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to interview every president since Ronald Reagan. 

The event could not have taken place without the help of many local businesses, including appetizers by Fika Coffee Wine Nibbles, music by the Danny Weiss Trio, dinner by Custom Select Catering, and dessert by the Stone House. The night marked the Opera House’s second event in their new Legacy series.  

The Delphi Opera House’s Legacy Series is a fundraising campaign that includes annual events that celebrate successful people with roots in Delphi. The first event of the series took place in October of 2021 with painter Rena Brouwer. Lamb was meant to be the first honoree of the series in 2020; however, due to COVID-19, the event was pushed back to this April. According to Barb Mayfield, a member of the Delphi Opera House Board of Directors, “Around the time we were starting to host the event, VanSickle won the Pulitzer Prize and we thought, ‘Oh, my goodness. Media, media, Delphi connections. Let’s put them together.” 

The Legacy Series events are a part of the Opera House’s Legacy Campaign, which is the organization’s fundraising sector. The events are organized by a committee of six people from the Delphi Opera House and the Delphi Preservation Society who plan and arrange for everything related to the Legacy Campaign. 

At the event, the Legacy Campaign committee introduced a new type of donation group called the Limelight Society. The Limelight Society refers to the people who donate over $1000 to the Delphi Opera House in a calendar year. According to Barb Mayfield, “Running the Opera House and maintaining the building costs money, so the Limelight Society is a way to start a group of people who are committed to funding the Opera House and its future.”

The Delphi Opera House is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations and community volunteers to staff its events. A few DCHS students gave their time to work at the most recent event. DCHS seniors Abigail Burns served as an assistant, and Evan Toby videoed the event.