A potential train wreck was on the Dallas fundraising schedule. It was last Friday when two major dinners were in place at the same time. Yipes! Out of 365 days in the year, how could this have happened? Well, the situation started months ago when the Dallas Arboretum announced its gala for the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden would take place on Friday, September 20. (Originally the garden and its gala had been planned for an earlier date, but rain delays caused the garden to open later than scheduled.) Oops! The new date just so happened to be the very same night as the annual TACA RBC Wealth Management Custom Auction Gala at the Mansion.
Déjà vu! Just last year the Arboretum held its gala launch of the Dale Chihuly exhibition on the same night as the TACA Party On The Green.
Such a collision of important fundraising events taking place on the same night might be a problem. After all, how does one choose between biggies? But, luckily, there were enough generous folks to sell out both the outdoor-chic and black-tie events. Why, one TACA veteran couple came up with a Solomon-like solution — they would attend the Arboretum event and send a $10,000 check to TACA.
Then the week before the big night, weather forecasts predicted one minor hitch — rain! After a summer that had been as parched as a wrangler heading up a cattle drive’s final days, the meteorologists were downright giddy at the prospect of 60% showers.
On the other hand, the Arboretum folks who had garnered national press about their expansive garden put into action a rain plan. Just in case the weather guessers were right, the cocktail reception in the new garden would be replaced by cocktails on the terrace next to the Rosine Hall. And, of course, the terrace would be tented. Then dinner and festivities would take place in Rosine Hall.
Across town, the TACA Co-Chairs Heather and Bill Esping and staffers were staying loyal to their annual POA. To them, rain was no big deal. After all, the auction was always indoors. So, the only change would be the transition between the cocktail reception in the Promenade to the tables set up in the restaurant, wine cellar, dining room, bar and various suites. Instead, the well-mannered guests would just take the hallway connecting the hotel proper to the dining facilities.
And the 325+ guests lived up to the look and feel of the black-tie event.
Alexander McQueen, Jimmy Choo and Bryan Atwood
First, there was the fashion snapshots of the night — Event Co-Chair Heather Esping in Lanvin with Jimmy Choo shoes; Christie’s auctioneer Andrea Fiuczynski combining a Naeem Khan shrug with her Jill Sanders cocktail dress; and Honorary Co-Chair Barbara Daseke in a 15-year-old Donna Karan. For shoe lovers, there were Lynn McBee in Alexander McQueen, Auction Item Chair Wanda Gierhart in Bryan Atwood and TACA Chairman of the Board Nancy Carlson in Louis Vuittons.
Niven Morgan, Muffin Lemak and Shelby Wagner
The chatter of the night ranged from Niven Morgan’s preparing for his 15th anniversary and launching a new men’s product in the following week. . . Margo Keyes being solo due to husband Jim’s being “trapped” in California (but Jim later showed up!) . . . Alicia Wood reporting that 100 more tickets have been sold for Tablescapes this year. In fact they’ve had to add two more tables for the lunch with James Farmer. . . Lynn explaining that husband Allan McBee was in Tyler. . . Adorably cute Vogue Associate Publisher David Stuckey was part of the receiving line meeting and greeting a bunch of new friends. . .Past TACA RBC Wealth Management Custom Auction Gala Co-Chairs Kit and Kemp Sawers breezing in without a care in the world. Past chairs of any event tend to be like that, don’t you know.
DIning in the library
After much cocktailing, catching up and checking out the live auction items on display in the ballroom, the guests headed to their assigned seats throughout the Mansion. For their reward, they discovered beautifully displayed tables and lighting that would have made the Wicked Witch of the West look downright pretty. But being pretty just isn’t enough. Mansion Chef Bruno Davaillon prepared a menu that included chilled ahi tuna with tomato jelly and heirloom tomato in a sea broth followed by Strubb Ranch prime filet and short rib on a sweet potato puree with pickled root salad and Thai herb with Moet Hennessy wines. As delicious as it all sounded, one sushi-loving guest passed on the ahi tuna saying, “It just doesn’t smell right.” No problem. Everyone else at the table dug in.
Main dining room
Following dinner, the guests like children waking up on Christmas morning discovered a bounty of desserts (Chocolate Composition, Classic Carrot Cake, Berries Panna Cotta Glass, Pistachio Cherry Macaron, Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake and Mini Cone) masterminded by Mansion Pastry Chef Nicolas Blouin. And, of course, more of the bubbly and grown-up refreshments.
Everyone was having a good time, except for a couple of people like Faye Briggs, who was suffering from a mighty headache and headed for the valet with Ralph Gorman.
But the partying continued festively and loudly. . . very loudly. But what could you expect when you have more than 325 partiers partying? It was a party, for heaven sakes!
Andrea Fiuczynski and David Stuckey
But the time to get down to business was at hand, and the ballroom started filling with people with bidding paddles in hand. For some it meant reserved places in the rows or at tables near the front of the stage. Alas, some of those special guests either decided to stand on the sidelines or continue their conversations on the promenade. The results? Two or three prime positions were as empty as a Target parking lot on Easter Sunday.
It was going to be an interesting auction. Fewer items than last year and a bigger goal!
Auctioneer Andrea, who does 25 auctions a year, had said earlier in the evening that her job was to “make spending money fun.” Evidently, this group didn’t need any help in the fun department. Despite having one of the swiftest and most finalizing palm gavels in the business, Andrea never seemed to get the guests to turn down the chatter volume. Unlike last year’s herd of guests, this one just wouldn’t settle down.
One couple who had prime seats finally gave up and headed home because of the noise. At one point, Wanda took the mic and tried to get the attention of the chatty Cathies and Charlies. It only seemed to give the C’s something more to talk about.
In a change of POA, the “Farm-To-Table Dinner” offering was on the auction bloc in the middle of the program instead of the tail end. With paddles waving, it added scrambling activity to the noise factor.
Then Chef Kent Rathbun took over the mic to pitch the “At Home With The Rathbuns” package. Let’s face it. When Kent takes over, the big guy is like your junior high school coach — he knows how and with whom to make eye contact to get the message across.
Dawn Spalding, Amy and Les Ware
But despite the hubbub, many happy faces were beaming over their prizes — Bill Esping got a kiss from wife Heather for the “Fashion Week Through the Eyes of Vogue;” Lisa and Bill Ogle snapped up “Art Basel Miami Beach;” the wine cellar diner with Emmanuel Villaume went to Adam Carter; Suzy and Larry Gekiere are headed to Vegas for the “Ultimate Las Vegas Oasis;” after spending part of the summer in London, Nancy and Clint Carlson won the “Luxury in London” package; and still another kiss reward was exchanged by Amy and Less Ware for landing the “Retreat in the French Riviera.”
Barbara Daseke and Heather and Bill Esping
Michele Vobach, John Swords, Tara Lewis, Nick Even, Kent Rathbun, Lynn McBee and Stephen Vobach
As for the Rathbun dinner, it went up for bid twice and was won by a slew of folks including Nick Even, Tara Lewis, John Swords, Michele and Stephen Vobach and the McBees.
Farm To Table bidding
As for the “Farm To Table” package for 40 couples, 26 paddles went up. Translation: Some folks bought more than one pair @ $750 resulting in a swift $30,000 for dining in a pasture. Worth every delicious penny!
Despite the volume and the competition with the Arboretum for this night of nights, TACA Executive Director Becky Young was all smiles. Seems that once again the gala broke another record, raising $615,000 with $195,000 resulting from the auction alone.
Just goes to show — noisy can be profitable.