On Friday night, the Junior League of Chicago (a volunteer organization benefitting at-risk women and girls) threw a nautical-themed party at the Adler Planetarium to commemorate the kickoff of the Chicago Air & Water Show (recently named No. 2 on the list of festivals in our Top 100 Events). The annual summer soiree, this year dubbed "Anchors Away," featured such sea-faring trappings as a Jimmy Buffet-style band, island-themed drinks, and guests dressed in all manner of red, white, and blue stripes.
"Our summer party used to be a formal event," said Junior League summer soiree co-chair Ashley Galston. "This year, we wanted to do something more fun and casual, so we came up with a beach theme."
The event utilized the Adler's entire upper level, which includes Galileo's cafe and three astronomy exhibits featuring giant replicas of planets. The silent auction tables, which had an enormous yellow "sun" in the background, included such sea-inspired items as trips to Aruba, Mexico, and Florida. Stationed nearby were a Tommy Bahama Rum bar serving beachy concoctions and a fondue buffet and white-chocolate martini fountain from the Melting Pot.
Galileo's cafe housed several highboy tables decked in white linens with bold red tie-backs, other tables adorned with plastic pails filled with jelly beans and fish-shaped sugar cookies (made by a Junior League member), and food stations topped with finger foods like chips and salsa served out of sand pails. Servers also passed hors d'oeuvres from Food For Thought, including mini grilled cheese sandwiches with wild mushrooms and mini crabcakes. The Southern Course Band, an upbeat septet dressed in shorts and sandals, jammed on Jimmy Buffet tunes while the crowd of about 500 guests milled about.
An hour into the party the hotly anticipated bean bag tournament, hosted by local league organizer Chicago Cornhole, was under way. The Adler's lakeside terrace hosted several wooden boxes set up for the occasion, where 32 teams battled it out for Tommy Bahama Rum prizes.
