ACM Lifting Lives benefit gala moving to Dallas

The ACM Lifting Lives benefit gala, originally intended to be held simultaneously in Fort Worth and Dallas, will now take place only in Dallas.

Organizers announced the decision early Monday morning to combine both galas into a single event, which will take place Friday at the Omni Dallas hotel.

According to a statement, “donors who purchased tickets for the Fort Worth event,” which was to be held at the Fort Worth Zoo, “will be accomodated at the Omni Dallas hotel.”

“We had donors inquiring about the two locations, asking if it would be possible to attend both events to see the artists performing — and we realized we were putting people in a difficult position of having to choose between two incredible events,” said Hannah Martin, ACM Lifting Lives spokesperson, in a statement. “Rather than force people to choose, we decided to ‘supersize’ the Gala and host it at one location, with all the talent performing, for one amazing night of entertainment.”

What that means now is that attendees will be able to see performances from Hunter Hayes, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, the Band Perry and “special surprise guests,” along with hosts Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Nancy O’Dell and Montel Williams.

The gala will begin with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner, a live auction and the aforementioned musical acts.

“VIP awards show and concert experiences” will be up for bid, as well as Garth Brooks’ “original red Chevy truck he drove to Nashville before he began his music career,” according to a statement. To preview the auction items, visit the ACM Lifting Lives web site.

Tickets are still available through ticketing.acmcountry.com, with proceeds benefiting ACM Lifting Lives, and Garth Brooks’ charity, Teammates for Kids, as well as Children’s Health Dallas and Cook Children’s Fort Worth.

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 6:00 AM with the headline "ACM Lifting Lives benefit gala moving to Dallas."