Darren Hughes, Jaydee Hughes, Five Acres Chief Executive Officer Chanel Boutakidis, and Ioakim Boutikidis at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Event Tri-Chairs Erica Adler, Candy Renick, and Tammi Rogers at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Five Acres Board Chair Chris Selak and Steve Selak at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Sue McGuirl and Trish Gonzalez at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Chekeshia Turner, Jay Cohen, and Rasheedah Harrison at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Jennifer and John Berger at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Carla McCray, Tonetta Conner, and Denise Mitchell at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Wendy Wu and Amy Chang at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Zeenat Zonte, Nicole Rasic, and Areva Martin at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Joanne and Kevin Crouch at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Steve Kessler, Monte Baier, John Berger, Allen Shay, Kirsten Hansen, Linda Hansen, Meghan Baier, and Pam Kessler at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Heather and Tyler Vanderpool at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Scott Griffin, Julie Lawson, Kim Tera, David Wild, Trish Gonzalez, and Riley Gonzalez at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Melanie Savarese, Kate Candelora, and Sara Larson at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Debra Sun, Frances Teng, Ditti Singh, and Lupe Perez at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Deanna Bligh, Coco Costigan, Rosalee Bligh, Katie Costigan, and April Costigan at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Mildred Vera, Farnar Dato, and Jennifer Capo at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Paul Anderson, Liz Anderson, and John Berger at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Ed Leibowitz and Mary Melton at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Event Tri-Chair Tammi Rogers, Angel Pacheco, and Brooke Waldrop at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Nancy and Shahar Kalev at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Stephen Parke, Kathy Oh, and Nicole Klyczek at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Tracy Fleck, Tracy Alexander, and Nick Spencer at Five Acres' Triple Crown Gala held at a private home in Pasadena [Paul Takizawa/Pasadena Now]
Rain did not stop guests from attending the Kentucky Derby® nor the 2025 Five Acres Triple Crown Gala on May 3. Set against the stunning backdrop of the private estate of April and Dr. William Costigan in Pasadena, nearly 300 guests and volunteers donned their elegant evening wear with fascinators and hats to support the charity’s mission that brings safety to children in foster care and strengthens families.
This year’s gala chairs, Erica Adler, Candy Renick, and Tammi Rogers, bet on a winning committee immersed in the thrill and grandeur of the Triple Crown races. Committee members encouraged sponsorships, garnered auction items, and collected spirits and items for two exciting opportunity drawings that drew cheers for the winners, Grace Rogers for the horseshoe necklace donated by Prince Jewelers and Philip Swan for the “Off to the Carts” bar serving trolley, spirits, and accessories.
During the cocktail reception, guests could choose from the signature cocktail mint julep or bubbly from a sparkling wine wall before taking keepsake photos with Jay Cohen, who donned bugler regalia and performed the iconic bugle sound of the Kentucky Derby® at the start of the dinner program. Guests also enjoyed handmade portraitures from recent ArtCenter School of Design Graduate Kade Doll and feasted on delicious appetizers and a Southern-inspired dinner from Cynthia Brooks Catering. The live auction of numerous destinations like Portugal, London, Kauai, Big Bear and guest favorites like Copper Mountain, the Parkway Grill Mixology Night, Taste of Derby Dinner for Eight, and a Mountain Bikers’ Dream inspired guests to bid high.
A highlight of the evening was the traditional heartfelt mission moment featuring Marie Kennedy and Sean Cook, who became approved and certified to become foster parents. They shared their journey to becoming a forever family. Kennedy and Cook experienced an emotional toll when fostering, navigating the complex emotions of reunification and the uncertainty of the adoption process. Despite these challenges, their commitment to providing a loving home led them to say “yes” one more time—ultimately welcoming their infant son, Finn, into their family permanently.
“There are more than 16,000 children living in foster care in LA County. As the amount of resources dedicated to foster care declines, this gap expands, and more children continue to fall through the cracks,” said Chanel Boutakidis, Five Acres CEO. “We have hundreds of families in crisis and Five Acres doesn’t receive contract funding to recruit foster families. We rely solely on donations to support the outreach, recruitment, and training of new foster parents.”
To learn more about the charity, visit https://5acres.org.
