The decor for the Henry Street Settlement's Casablanca benefit at the Puck Building was a striking vision of crisp white, black and crimson decor. It was a nice change from all of the spring pastel buds we've been seeing everywhere for months--there wasn't a single cherry blossom in sight.
Instead, the cocktail area and dining room for the event were filled with white flowers, red rose petals and glowing candlelight. The quasi-Moroccan theme--which was influenced by Casablanca the place, not the movie--was developed by Henry Street's event committee members, with the help of Match Catering & Eventstyles and Antony Todd Inc., who provided and set up the decor.
This stark, glam event raised more than $350,000 through ticket sales and a silent auction for the Henry Street Settlement, a Lower East Side organization that provides an array of services, including shelters for battered women and the homeless, care for AIDS patients, youth job-training programs and a mental health clinic.
The cocktail area was furnished with clean, stark white square bed seats with cushions surrounding a glass tray filled with water. Each mini-pool had white globe candles, red rose petals and white flowers floating on top--very pretty in its simplicity, but maybe a little dangerous for someone who might carelessly lean back while sitting down. Strings with square mirrors hung against the walls behind the silent auction lots, and cocktail tables with white tablecloths and more vases with candles, water and flowers were placed around the room. The only departure from the color scheme were Match's "Moroccan Martinis," made of blue curacao and vodka with a fine spiraled sliver of orange peel.
In the dining room, instead of the typical round dining tables, large square tables were covered with shimmering black and red silk shantung tablecloths, and slipcovers covered the chairs. Some tables had a centerpiece of a set of nine square glass vases filled with water, flowers and candles, and others featured tall vases of glowing pink orchids. All of the tables had red rose petals scattered in the center. Antony Todd also draped red fabric across the grand ballroom's white pillars, enclosing the dance floor in front of the booth where Tom Finn DJed.
For dinner, the plated first course (on elegant dark slate gray square plates from Match) consisted of Marrakech toasts, fava bean puree with pecorino and grilled vegetable salad and oil cured olives. The chicken tagine and roasted leg of lamb, (with saffron, green couscous and spiced eggplant) was served on platters family-style. (Having to share and pass around the food is a good conversation-starter for shy partygoers, according to Match's Joan Steinberg.) Dessert included chocolate soufflé cake with hot cocoa sauce and spiced tuilles, plus silver tiered dessert trays with honey and date filo purses, sesame cookies, fresh strawberries and orange water and almond tartlets.
--Suzanne Ito
More about the food at this event...
Instead, the cocktail area and dining room for the event were filled with white flowers, red rose petals and glowing candlelight. The quasi-Moroccan theme--which was influenced by Casablanca the place, not the movie--was developed by Henry Street's event committee members, with the help of Match Catering & Eventstyles and Antony Todd Inc., who provided and set up the decor.
This stark, glam event raised more than $350,000 through ticket sales and a silent auction for the Henry Street Settlement, a Lower East Side organization that provides an array of services, including shelters for battered women and the homeless, care for AIDS patients, youth job-training programs and a mental health clinic.
The cocktail area was furnished with clean, stark white square bed seats with cushions surrounding a glass tray filled with water. Each mini-pool had white globe candles, red rose petals and white flowers floating on top--very pretty in its simplicity, but maybe a little dangerous for someone who might carelessly lean back while sitting down. Strings with square mirrors hung against the walls behind the silent auction lots, and cocktail tables with white tablecloths and more vases with candles, water and flowers were placed around the room. The only departure from the color scheme were Match's "Moroccan Martinis," made of blue curacao and vodka with a fine spiraled sliver of orange peel.
In the dining room, instead of the typical round dining tables, large square tables were covered with shimmering black and red silk shantung tablecloths, and slipcovers covered the chairs. Some tables had a centerpiece of a set of nine square glass vases filled with water, flowers and candles, and others featured tall vases of glowing pink orchids. All of the tables had red rose petals scattered in the center. Antony Todd also draped red fabric across the grand ballroom's white pillars, enclosing the dance floor in front of the booth where Tom Finn DJed.
For dinner, the plated first course (on elegant dark slate gray square plates from Match) consisted of Marrakech toasts, fava bean puree with pecorino and grilled vegetable salad and oil cured olives. The chicken tagine and roasted leg of lamb, (with saffron, green couscous and spiced eggplant) was served on platters family-style. (Having to share and pass around the food is a good conversation-starter for shy partygoers, according to Match's Joan Steinberg.) Dessert included chocolate soufflé cake with hot cocoa sauce and spiced tuilles, plus silver tiered dessert trays with honey and date filo purses, sesame cookies, fresh strawberries and orange water and almond tartlets.
--Suzanne Ito
More about the food at this event...
Some of the centerpieces at the Henry Street Settlement's Casablanca-themed benefit at the Puck Building consisted of nine square glass vases filled with water, flowers and candles.
The tables were covered with red and black silk shantung tablecloths, with centerpieces of tall, thin vases full of bright pink orchids towering above shallow glass trays filled with water, candles and flowers.
Antony Todd draped red fabric above the dance floor in front of the DJ booth.
White bed seats were decorated with a shallow glass tray filled with water, white globe candles, white flowers and red rose petals.
