| EVENT REPORT 07.13.09 1:03 PM |
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Carousel Rides, Illuminated Paw Prints Mark Lincoln Park Zoo Ball
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On Friday night, the carousel at the Lincoln Park Zoo had more sophisticated passengers than usual as guests at the black-tie Zoo Ball took cocktail-hour rides in tuxes and animal-print gowns. Themed "Spots and Stripes Forever," the fund-raising dinner dance—which drew some 750 guests—"really focused on the animals," said Erin Dahl, the zoo's manager of donor events. Although last year's affair had an "Emerald City" theme, this time around, chair Patricia Cutilletta "didn't want a fun, whimsical theme that didn't really have a zoo tie-in," Dahl said.
With the help of designers from Heffernan Morgan, the evening's cocktail tent became what Dahl referred to as a "zoo hall of fame." Banners hanging from the tent's roof depicted some of the zoo's feathered, furry, or scaly occpants; and a custom 40-foot bar incorporated illuminated photos of zoo grounds. In the dinner tent, Frost's paw-print-shaped gobos formed a path down the all-white dance floor, and projections of frogs, zebras, and other zoo animals illuminated the top of the tent.
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Lincoln Park Zoo |
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| FEATURE 07.07.09 3:39 PM |
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Chicago's Top Benefits 2009
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 | Ellen DeGeneres and a Make-a-Wish recipient
Photo: Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois |
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1. Green Tie Ball
Held in support of Chicago Gateway Green’s mission of beautifying area roadways, this ball draws the largest crowd of the season. Around 3,000 guests take part in charitable gaming, live entertainment, and tastings from dozens of area restaurants. Last year’s event raked in $500,000.
2. After School Matters Gala
The 2008 gala made a splash with its unconventional venue: an under-construction runway at O’Hare airport. Some 2,400 guests browsed a youth art auction and raised $3.5 million for after-school programs. The 2009 fund-raiser for Maggie Daley’s pet charity will take place in September.
3. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Chance of a Lifetime Gala
The most extensive silent auction in Chicago (500 lots, with everything from restaurant packages to trips) is the focus of this 2,000-guest event, which in 2008 raised $2.6 million and featured singer Steve Winwood. The 2009 incarnation is set for December 12.
4. Chicago Urban League Golden Fellowship Dinner
Major players in the city’s political, corporate, and social circles attend this annual event, where past guests have included Barack Obama and Johnson Publishing Company’s Linda Johnson Rice. In 2008, the evening drew 2,000 guests and raised $1.9 million for the civil-rights organization. This year’s dinner is set for November 7.
5. American Cancer Society Discovery Ball
Charlie Trotter designed the cocktails for the 2008 ball, which raised $2.1 million and featured acrobats and a performance by jazz icon Herbie Hancock. This year’s event took place at the Civic Opera House on April 25; some 1,000 guests attended.
6. Children’s Memorial Hospital Children’s Ball
In 2008, the 50th anniversary ball for 1,200 was held at the Hilton Chicago. The Medical Research Institute Council’s 2009 event on December 12 will build on the momentum of excitement generated by a new hospital building currently under construction in Streeterville.
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Chicago's Top 100 Events, Chicago Gateway Green, Maggie Daley, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Steve Winwood, Chicago Urban League, American Cancer Society, Herbie Hancock, Children's Memorial Hospital, Lincoln Park Zoo, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ellen DeGeneres, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Shedd Aquarium, Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, Museum of Science and Insutry |
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| EVENT REPORT 07.15.08 8:00 AM |
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Lincoln Park Zoo Ball Channels Oz With Thematic Food and Decor
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 | The Oz-themed dance floor at the Lincoln Park Zoo Ball
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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For Friday night's Lincoln Park Zoo Ball, event co-chairs Susan F. Erler and Karen V. Peterson—both members of the zoo's women's board—spent more than a year working with manager of donor events Erin Dahl to create an evening that brought the fund-raiser's "An Evening in the Emerald City" theme to vivid life. As more than 1,000 guests arrived at the ball, Glinda the good witch and a stilt-walker dressed in green stood inside the gates of the Lincoln Park Zoo, shouting "welcome to the Emerald City!" by way of greeting. ("Yeah, and I'm the munchkin," joked one in-the-spirit party-goer whose female companion was significantly taller than him.)
Behind the the straight-from-Oz greeters at the main gates, a cocktail reception held outside the lion house carried on the evening's theme with cocktails like the "If I Only Had a Brain" martini—made with Grey Goose vodka, Chambord, and fresh raspberries—and the mint-cucumber "Wicked West" martini. Limelight catering's passed hors d'oeuvres nodded to Toto with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese on bone-shaped toast crisps; one serving tray featured hors d'oeuvres set atop a mini Emerald City. Ruby slippers decorated the silent auction table that spanned the cocktail tent, and prizes were divided into sections labeled with thematic phrases like "I'll Get You, My Pretty" and "Munchkin Land."
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Lincoln Park Zoo |
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| FEATURE 07.07.08 10:00 AM |
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Chicago's Top Benefits 2008
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 | Brookfield Zoo's annual Whirl Ball
Photo: Eric Craig |
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1. Chicago Gateway Green’s Green Tie Ball
This rollicking annual outdoor event usually draws nearly 3,000 of the city’s young residents. Celebrity attendees, casino gaming tents, live music, and food from more than 65 Chicago restaurants are slated to be featured at the 2008 Green Tie Ball on September 13. Held at private event space Chicago Scenic Studios, the ball will be produced this year by Denise McGowan and Michelle Durpetti of McGowan Durpetti & Associates. The “Greenivale” theme will feature bands re-creating the sounds of Carnival in Rio. The 2007 ball raised $500,000.
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RELATED TOPICS
Chicago's Top 100 Events, After School Matters, American Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Chicago Auto Show, Museum of Science and Industry, Lincoln Park Zoo, Field Museum, Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Butterfly Ball, Adler Planetarium, Chicago Automobile Trade Association, Heartland Alliance, Medical Research Institute Council of Children's Memorial, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Chicago Zoological Society, Alzheimer's Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Parkways Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago Botanic Garden, Boys & Girls Clubs, Children's Place Association, Lupus Foundation |
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| MY FAVORITE VENDORS 07.03.08 11:30 AM |
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Lincoln Park Zoo Chooses Frost, Local Cover Band
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 | | Lincoln Park Zoo's Erin Dahl |
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Erin Dahl started as the manager of donor events for the Lincoln Park Zoo in March after her position as coordinator for all auxiliary board events was expanded. She plans between 30 and 35 events annually, ranging from the large black-tie gala, Zoo Ball (which is set to take place July 11 this year), to more intimate cocktail parties in donors' homes.
Entertainment: “We used Maggie Speaks for our spring benefit, and they kept the party rocking until 1 a.m. They’re a local cover band, and they do amazing work. We also used them for the Zoo Ball in 2007, and I have done other events with them; they are the ultimate crowd pleaser.”
Lighting: “We work almost exclusively with Frost Lighting; they make life easy. They come in and do a beautiful job, and Dave Kelly is a really good person to bounce ideas off of.”
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Lincoln Park Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo Auxiliary Board |
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