On Saturday night, some 620 guests headed to the River East Art Center for the Food Allergy Initiative's benefit, chaired by Alison Chambers and co-chaired by Suzanne Friedland. Marina Birch of Birch Design Studio produced the event, and chose a "garden of earthly delights" meets Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil theme.
"Since the charity's focus is on curing life-threatening allergies that predominantly affect children, we were thinking about a theme that felt childlike yet sophisticated, something that could be chic, yet really playful when executed," Birch said. To bring the garden theme to life, Birch and her team covered the central bar with a branch-and-leaf-covered dome that surrounded a chandelier-laden tree. Frost's ambient video installations showcased images of gardens and moonlit forests, and projections of stars and clouds illuminated drapes that hung from the ceiling.
The silent auction allowed guests to place bids using iPad-like touch-screen devices from Auction and Event Solutions. To introduce partygoers to the new technology, thematically costumed models worked their way through the crowd and offered instruction. Birch designed the models' costumes, and "tried to conjure up images of nymphs and imaginary animals and birds," she said. "My vision was to create individual fantasy vignettes with each costume to further our decor and theme."
Birch said the new devices proved successful. "Given that pads are so hot right now, and [the devices] function similarly, guests loved playing with them, and having the costumed models walk around certainly encouraged the bidding," she said. The event also had a live auction—new this year—and the combined auctions resulted in a 25 percent larger take than last year. Overall, the event raised more than $1.2 million.