Regular readers will know that I am a big summer tent complainer—they are always hot and airless. Yet still, when I heard that Southampton Hospital’s annual event, which was chaired by Jean Shafiroff again (for the third time in a row) and managed to outdo last year’s haul with more than $1.7 million, was moving to the giant air-conditioned frame tent where Art Southampton had a giant expo the week before, I wondered, would it feel like we were at a trade show? This is, after all, the most white shoe of events.
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Within seconds of arriving the answer was clear, this was cool. In every sense of the word. This is how the dining room looked when guests first came buzzing in from cocktails, where Robbins Wolfe’s signature bar snacks of crudite and cheese straws kept guests from complaining.
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But once the doors to this beautiful room were finally opened, it was like kids racing into a playground. It was spacious and beautiful, and for gents like me at our one coat-and-tie night of the season, it was gloriously cool.
Later, while the air stayed cool, the scene turned hot, and the dance floor took off. The cool air and the roomy vibe really got people off their feet and onto the floor.
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It didn’t hurt that Alex Donner’s orchestra was blowing hard and hot all night. Alex is celebrating his 25th year in the business, and still going strong. He has it in his blood of course; as a youngster, his dad was a regular at the Stork Club.
