Nasty weather—not to mention the economy—threatened Tuesday’s Cancer 101 benefit, but in the end neither put much of a damper on the cocktail party fund-raiser. The planners of the event, where guests included cancer survivors and their caregivers, settled on a circus theme because “we wanted to celebrate all the people who do survive,” said Susan Shin of Shin Advisors, which co-produced the event with Bon Vivant. “Plus—and you’re going to laugh—we liked the alliteration of Big Top at the Bowery.”
The evening’s entertainment at the Bowery Hotel was in keeping with the circus theme: Circulating among the 315 guests were a juggler, magician, tarot card reader, contortionist, Hula-hoop dancer (with extra hoops for partygoers), and a man on stilts. Before performing, Broadway in South Africa—a nonprofit troupe of Broadway artists—walked the room, the men dressed in sparkling tuxes and top hats, the women wearing body suits, fishnets, and feathers. Guests ate popcorn and cotton candy in addition to passed hors d’oeuvres served by men in suspenders and colorful, oversize clown ties.
An afternoon rainstorm necessitated some last-minute rearranging in the space, which includes a large terrace. The doors to the hotel's terrace cannot be closed, which left items for the silent auction, like chiffon gowns and leather purses, open to the rain. The staff had to shut the curtains and shuffle the raffle items to move delicate pieces away from the doorways. The rain cleared up about half an hour after the party’s 7 p.m. start, opening up the outdoor space for mingling, if not for sitting—the seat cushions were soaked.
For Monica Knoll, Cancer 101’s founder and a three-time cancer survivor, the challenge of the event was to create an evening that was all fun without letting guests lose sight of the cause behind the party. To that end, there was a table with information on the charity, which offers care planners to recently diagnosed cancer patients, as well as staffers on hand to answer questions. They also chose not to do a printed program—“People just trash it,” Knoll said—and instead included a TV screen with rotating slides on all the event’s sponsors, including Madame Paulette and Sanofi-Aventis, and the charity itself.
The recession posed its own challenges. Cancer101 lowered prices from previous benefits and aimed for a smaller party—with fewer tickets to sell—in a nod to the economic climate. There was, however, an exception to the recession-sensitivity: a display, manned by a model, for the auction of Clive Christian perfume, which normally costs $1,000 for a 50 milliliter bottle and is known as the world’s most expensive perfume.
