Event producer and planner Bryan Rafanelli painted the town red—well, not the whole town, but at least the Venetian Room at the Breakers hotel in Palm Beach. The 37th annual Sixty-Five Roses Gala to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation filled the senses with the sight and smell of stunning roses. Rafanelli, the owner of Rafanelli Events, explained that the Chorus Line theme was a natural after learning that the famed musical's composer Marvin Hamlisch was to be the special guest. The cocktail hour, held in the adjoining Mediterranean Room, was completely awash with pink lighting. The main focus, however, was the floral arrangements consisting of 65 red, long-stem roses placed between the twin bars. With New York-based Michael Carney Orchestra playing show tunes, guests browsed the extravagant auction items and got into a giving mood.
With some assistance from the Design Studio at the Breakers, Rafanelli dressed the main room in shades of red—from the draped walls to the table coverings. Stunning roses in glass containers stood as centerpieces on each table. Huge black top hats hung from the ceiling, bamboo-style chairs and gold charger plates added just a splash of accent color, but red was the color of the evening. The Chorus Line theme carried over to the entertainment with a musical interlude by Hamlisch himself and a spectacular dance opening by student's from West Palm's Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts.
Keeping to the sixty-five roses theme, the three-course dinner began with a smoked salmon rosette, baby greens and crème Fraiche with black caviar. Horseradish-crusted beef tenderloin followed to finish the meal, 350 guests were treated to "his and hers" desserts—the ladies received chocolate pianos with vanilla ice cream and raspberries while the gentlemen were served warm apple tart tatin with cinnamon French vanilla ice cream.
—J.K. Angel
