EVENT REPORT   05.15.08 11:41 AM
Horse Sense
The American Museum of Natural History previewed its new horse exhibit with a Kentucky Derby-style party.
The Kentucky Derby may have been two weeks ago, but that didn't stop the American Museum of Natural History from bringing a little Southern equestrian style to the Tuesday-night preview party for its newest exhibition, "The Horse." Approximately 600 guests attended the cocktail party, which featured bugle players, a mint julep bar, and, natch, horses. The museum's senior vice president of development and membership, Lynn Debow, and the development department planned the event, which thematically took its lead from the exhibition, a collection of artifacts that explores the history of the interactions between horses and humans. ("The Horse" opens to the public this Saturday, May 17.)
Members of the N.Y.P.D.'s mounted guard stood outside the Upper West Side institution, greeting guests on Central Park West, and at the entrance, musicians from All-Star Buglers performed. Inside, bourbon whiskey brand Maker's Mark (a spirit distilled in Kentucky) supplied mint juleps as refreshments, while projections from Stortz Lighting highlighted the walls of the rotunda. And to make sure that the attendees matched the motif, the invitations specified "Derby attire" as the dress code for the evening.

  —Anna Sekula
Members of the N.Y.P.D. mounted guard greeted guests outside the museum on Central Park West.
Photo: AMNH/R. Mickens
Professional race-track bugle-blowers the All-Star Buglers serenaded guests entering the event.
Photo: AMNH/R. Mickens
In the rotunda, Stortz Lighting projected horse-shaped lighting patterns on the walls.
Photo: AMNH/R. Mickens
Maker's Mark provided a mint julep bar for the occasion.
Photo: AMNH/R. Mickens
The dress code for the evening was "Derby attire," a suggestion many followed by donning hats.
Photo: AMNH/R. Mickens
 
American Museum of Natural History's Opening Party and Preview for "The Horse"

Buglers All-Star Buglers
Catering Catering by Restaurant Associates
Flowers Seasons, a Floral Design Studio
Lighting Stortz Lighting
Venue American Museum of Natural History


RELATED TOPICS American Museum of Natural History, Maker's Mark, Kentucky Derby