| EVENT REPORT 07.15.08 8:00 AM |
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| Caribbean Colors |
| CharityWorks kicked off its first Summer Party at a private estate with neon colors amid Caribbean beats and eats. |
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The McLean, Virginia-based CharityWorks—an organization that raises funds for smaller nonprofits—embraced the tropical weather on Friday night with an outdoor fete at the private Potomac estate of developer (and CharityWorks donor) Steve Lebling. Complete with neon-hued lighting, Caribbean-style drinks, and a steel drum band playing Bob Marley, the event, which Lebling underwrote, raised more than $100,000 for the construction of a new Fisher House at the Veterans Medical Center in Washington.
Although most D.C. residents decamp for less humid locales during the summer, CharityWorks executive director Miriam Pollin was not deterred in planning the group's first Summer Party. “A lot of organizations hesitate doing things during the summer, but we had a huge turnout, with over 300 people attending,” she said, adding that the function may now become an annual event. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | Exquisite Design Studio placed palm trees on the mansion's two-tier marble patio to match the tropical colored linens from Ridgewells.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | Hargrove hung orange chiffon drapery, while Atmosphere washed the facade in multi-colored lighting.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | Valets wearing tropical shirts and hats waited in the circular driveway at the Potomac estate.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | Table decorations included neon sunglasses, battery-operated personal fans, and disposable cameras from CharityWorks.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | A three-member steel band, courtesy of Washington Talent, Photo & Video, performed Bob Marley tunes in the early hours of the event.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | The exotic 4-foot-tall floral arrangements from Exquisite Design followed the tropical theme.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | Waitstaff, dressed in festive ties, passed out Jamaican rum ginger zingers and Caribbean limeades.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | As the band took the stage, the light projections on the house and the tennis ball-sized orbs strewn around the three-acre yard flashed in yellow, red, blue, orange, and purple.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | Pink gobo lights covered the 300-person crowd once the sun went down.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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 | The eight-piece Millennium band took over the multi-colored stage and played Motown classics.
Photo: Jonah Koch for BizBash |
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Lebling’s 28,000-square-foot mansion drew attention as the crowd perused its spiraling front staircase, 11 fireplaces, and 13 bathrooms. But the main event took over the home's two-tier marble deck, which Hargrove decorated like an island oasis with two orange chiffon banners draped from the second-story balconies.
Exquisite Design Studio provided arrangements of ferns and tropical flowers and two full-sized palm trees, while Ridgewells offered up a raw bar with oysters, clams, and jumbo gulf shrimp, passed empanadas and chicken skewers, and warm-weather drinks such as Jamaican rum ginger zingers and Caribbean limeades.
Since the weather was already steamy when the party kicked off at 7 p.m., guests made use of the neon sunglasses and miniature hand-held fans placed at each table. But as the sun went down, and the temperature cooled, the three-acre lawn glowed with multi-colored lighting. Dozens of tennis ball-sized orbs decorating the grass lit up and flashed different colors as the crowd danced to Motown classics performed by the eight-piece band Millennium, courtesy of Washington Talent, Photo & Video.
—Adele Chapin
RELATED TOPICS
CharityWorks
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