Drag queens, drama queens, superheroes, and super villains took center stage at the 17th annual Headdress Ball, one of Orlando's most outrageous, over-the-top fund-raisers—dedicated to raising money for the Hope and Help Center of Florida, an organization that assists people with HIV/AIDS.For her fifth consecutive year, Maggie King, development director for the Hope and Help Center, spearheaded the event. "We liked last year so much that we hired Richard Summers and Alina Williams of launch again this year," she said. "Eighty-five percent of everything at this year's event was donated. Anyone can be a great event producer with a million
dollar budget, but when you can get people to donate their products and services, it's amazing."
Like last year, a progressive party started with a V.I.P. room and rolled into the silent auction, then the main event, and finally an after-party, held, once again, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. However, this year's theme, "Superheroes: Master the Power of the Headdress," really let both performers and patrons get a little bit naughty—but for a nice cause.
The V.I.P. room was understated, using a large four-sided mahogany wood bar as the room's focal point. Highboy tables adorned with small floral centerpieces created by Lowe and Behold Event Accents were placed around the bar and about the room for guests to rest plates of sushi from the hotel's catering department. Seating areas created with Unique Option's brown leather couches were placed in the four corners of the room. The overall look was formal, throwing patrons off the track of what was yet to come.
The enormous silent auction encompassed everything from gift baskets of food and beauty products to sculptures and paintings. As bids were made and conversation flowed, the main room's finishing touches were taking place. When the doors opened, patrons walked into a smoky, sultry space revealing blaring club beats and an ensemble dance troupe sensually moving about a 46- by 88-foot T-shaped stage. Women wore knee-high black boots, black fishnet body stockings, short sheer textured skirts, sleeves, and not much more. Men were clad only in combat boots and tight little black shorts. "The goal of the entertainment was to grab the audience and pull them in," Summers said. "This event has the reputation of being the naughtiest fund-raiser of the year. We gave them just that and more." As the heat rose and the dancers continued bumping, grinding, and swaying to the beat, guests began to line the stage. Within 20 minutes the place was wild. Guests reluctantly took their seats so the program could commence.
Summers and Williams dressed 92 tables (seating 909 people) in black hairy linens from Kirby Rental Service and then topped each with small, branded ice centerpieces from Carving Ice of Orlando. Bags of swag placed at each seat and on the table included gifts from Neiman Marcus, Kiehl's bath and body products, binoculars, and gift certificates to local gyms, restaurants, and stores.
Funky and futuristic, the room also had an ominous appearance, reminiscent of a scene from the movie Batman. On both sides of the room were 30-foot bars built by Paradise Show & Design. Made of trussing, topped with clear heavyweight plastic and uplit in blue, the metal, sleek lines, and lack of curves perpetuated the cold, industrial feel. Lighting enhanced the dramatic effect, creating a constant feeling of being in shadow. "We got our inspiration from the Joker's lair," Summers said. "We kept the lighting purposefully dark and dingy, concentrating on the energy of the stage. The lighting, like the dance numbers, were choreographed to control the guests emotions."
This year's hosts Bob Frier and Lauren Rowe (of Orlando's WKMG-TV) and local impersonators Jacqueline London, Darcel Stevens, Miss Sammy, Carol Lee, and Leigh Shannon also doubled as performers and kept the evening deliciously fun and campy. Frier and Rowe starred in a racy superhero video, poking fun at everyone and everything they could, including last year's emcee, former Miss America Leanza Cornett. Entertainment was abundant and continually changing—from Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand impersonators and drag queens to strippers and borderline S&M shows, the action never stopped.
And then came the headdress contest. Twelve models strutted up and down the catwalk in their respective entrants' headdresses. Color was key and outrageousness ruled, but every headdress had its own flavor. In the end, Gerard Bernard of Gerard Bernard Salon in Winter Park won three out of the five awards. The remaining two went to Randy Lowe of Lowe and Behold Event Accents, who took home the Most Outrageous award; and Parliament House (whose headdress was created by D2 Productions), who won Best in Show.
The Omni's catering team created a three-course meal, which started with a goat cheese tartlet with pear, tomatoes, and micro greens. Then came the main dish, sliced beef tenderloin and jumbo shrimp paired with a Maryland-style crab cake, roasted butternut squash risotto, and port demi. And to finish the meal: a decadent composition of a white chocolate Catwoman holding a licorice whip, leaning against a mound of white chocolate mousse adorned with a chocolate sculpture and a strawberry.
Once dinner was over, the celebration went on. The V.I.P. room had been turned into the after-party, where guests either danced on Wizard Connection Themed Event's lighted dance floor to a mix of 70's, 80's, 90's, and current tunes or chilled on Unique Option's cool suede furniture. Ketel One's martini bar featured an ice luge that replicated the bottles of vodka. While it's been done before, the twist appeared in the ice centerpiece, in which superhero action figures had been frozen. The energy level remained high until 1 AM, when the party came to an official end. For $250 a ticket, not only did guests eat well, get great goodies, and dance the night away, but they also left knowing they had contributed to the $236,000 raised for the cause.
—Shari Lynn Rothstein
Photos: Tom Hurst/Hurst Photography
Headdress Ball Delivers Night of Sexy Revelry
Like last year, a progressive party started with a V.I.P. room and rolled into the silent auction, then the main event, and finally an after-party, held, once again, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. However, this year's theme, "Superheroes: Master the Power of the Headdress," really let both performers and patrons get a little bit naughty—but for a nice cause.
The V.I.P. room was understated, using a large four-sided mahogany wood bar as the room's focal point. Highboy tables adorned with small floral centerpieces created by Lowe and Behold Event Accents were placed around the bar and about the room for guests to rest plates of sushi from the hotel's catering department. Seating areas created with Unique Option's brown leather couches were placed in the four corners of the room. The overall look was formal, throwing patrons off the track of what was yet to come.
The enormous silent auction encompassed everything from gift baskets of food and beauty products to sculptures and paintings. As bids were made and conversation flowed, the main room's finishing touches were taking place. When the doors opened, patrons walked into a smoky, sultry space revealing blaring club beats and an ensemble dance troupe sensually moving about a 46- by 88-foot T-shaped stage. Women wore knee-high black boots, black fishnet body stockings, short sheer textured skirts, sleeves, and not much more. Men were clad only in combat boots and tight little black shorts. "The goal of the entertainment was to grab the audience and pull them in," Summers said. "This event has the reputation of being the naughtiest fund-raiser of the year. We gave them just that and more." As the heat rose and the dancers continued bumping, grinding, and swaying to the beat, guests began to line the stage. Within 20 minutes the place was wild. Guests reluctantly took their seats so the program could commence.
Summers and Williams dressed 92 tables (seating 909 people) in black hairy linens from Kirby Rental Service and then topped each with small, branded ice centerpieces from Carving Ice of Orlando. Bags of swag placed at each seat and on the table included gifts from Neiman Marcus, Kiehl's bath and body products, binoculars, and gift certificates to local gyms, restaurants, and stores.
Funky and futuristic, the room also had an ominous appearance, reminiscent of a scene from the movie Batman. On both sides of the room were 30-foot bars built by Paradise Show & Design. Made of trussing, topped with clear heavyweight plastic and uplit in blue, the metal, sleek lines, and lack of curves perpetuated the cold, industrial feel. Lighting enhanced the dramatic effect, creating a constant feeling of being in shadow. "We got our inspiration from the Joker's lair," Summers said. "We kept the lighting purposefully dark and dingy, concentrating on the energy of the stage. The lighting, like the dance numbers, were choreographed to control the guests emotions."
This year's hosts Bob Frier and Lauren Rowe (of Orlando's WKMG-TV) and local impersonators Jacqueline London, Darcel Stevens, Miss Sammy, Carol Lee, and Leigh Shannon also doubled as performers and kept the evening deliciously fun and campy. Frier and Rowe starred in a racy superhero video, poking fun at everyone and everything they could, including last year's emcee, former Miss America Leanza Cornett. Entertainment was abundant and continually changing—from Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand impersonators and drag queens to strippers and borderline S&M shows, the action never stopped.
And then came the headdress contest. Twelve models strutted up and down the catwalk in their respective entrants' headdresses. Color was key and outrageousness ruled, but every headdress had its own flavor. In the end, Gerard Bernard of Gerard Bernard Salon in Winter Park won three out of the five awards. The remaining two went to Randy Lowe of Lowe and Behold Event Accents, who took home the Most Outrageous award; and Parliament House (whose headdress was created by D2 Productions), who won Best in Show.
The Omni's catering team created a three-course meal, which started with a goat cheese tartlet with pear, tomatoes, and micro greens. Then came the main dish, sliced beef tenderloin and jumbo shrimp paired with a Maryland-style crab cake, roasted butternut squash risotto, and port demi. And to finish the meal: a decadent composition of a white chocolate Catwoman holding a licorice whip, leaning against a mound of white chocolate mousse adorned with a chocolate sculpture and a strawberry.
Once dinner was over, the celebration went on. The V.I.P. room had been turned into the after-party, where guests either danced on Wizard Connection Themed Event's lighted dance floor to a mix of 70's, 80's, 90's, and current tunes or chilled on Unique Option's cool suede furniture. Ketel One's martini bar featured an ice luge that replicated the bottles of vodka. While it's been done before, the twist appeared in the ice centerpiece, in which superhero action figures had been frozen. The energy level remained high until 1 AM, when the party came to an official end. For $250 a ticket, not only did guests eat well, get great goodies, and dance the night away, but they also left knowing they had contributed to the $236,000 raised for the cause.
—Shari Lynn Rothstein
Photos: Tom Hurst/Hurst Photography
Headdress Ball Delivers Night of Sexy Revelry
Blairing club beats, fishnet body stocking-clad women, and half-naked men welcomed guests to the 17th annual Headdress Ball.
The room's steely, cold atmosphere was reminiscent of a scene from the movie Batman.
Paradise Show & Design built a bar out of trussing and uplit it in blue.
The headdress contest was intense, featuring amazing entries.
Lowe and Behold Event Accents won the Most Outrageous award for its headdress.
The entertainment was constant, energetic, and thoroughly fun.
Dessert was a Catwoman made of white chocolate holding a licorice whip adorned with a chocolate sculpture and a strawberry.
launch pushed the envelope as far as they could go with their almost-but-not-quite obscenely spectacular entertainers.
Branded ice centerpieces and gift bags filled with swag sat on the tables.
Ketel One's ice luge incorporated superheroes into the design.
