Surprise Party

The theme of Saturday's Discovery Ball, a black-tie fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society held at McCormick Place West, was inspired by its name. "The real driver for some of the creativity behind this event was the word discovery," said Lee Kite, the society's director of distinguished events. Considering, according to Kite, "Chicago is an innovative city that enfolds so many of its own discoveries," she planned an evening that would celebrate some acclaimed aspects of local culture—especially its culinary and musical accomplishments.

At the cocktail reception that kicked off the gala, young musicians from the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz played beside a silent auction that comprised nearly 400 lots. At bars set up throughout the venue's prereception space (which also housed part of the silent auction), bartenders shook up specialty drinks that iconic local chef Charlie Trotter created especially for the occasion. Cocktails came with jazzy names like the Rhapsody in Groove, which was a blend of gin, vodka, ginger ale, bitter lemon soda, fresh lemon juice, and a sugar-dusted lemon slice.Kite and her team wanted the discovery theme to continue the whole night through, so they kept a few elements of the evening secret until they actually took place. Once inside the dinner room, which Kehoe Designs had decked in shades of silver, black, teal, and white, guests found gifts left on their seats: cashmere travel blankets from United Airlines. (Glenn Tilton, chairman, president, and C.E.O. of UAL Corporation and United Airlines, acted as the event chair.) Before dinner began, acrobats descended from the ceiling on long strips of blue fabric and delivered a Cirque de Soleil-style performance to Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up."

During a 12-package live auction, Charlie Trotter placed the winning bid (of $25,000) on the evening's most talked-about prize: an eight-week-old silver Labrador retriever puppy. Trotter also helped sell his own package: a dinner party for 10 at his home. He stood behind the auctioneer, continually upping the ante with last-minute announcements. (He offered to let the highest bidder take home a bottle of wine from his personal cellar—"and I've got some serious juice," he said—and even offered to tack on two tickets to Vegas.) When the package was ready to be sold for nearly $60,000, Trotter offered to do the dinner twice if someone could match the bid. Ultimately, his package sold for $120,000.

The silent auction lasted past 11 p.m., and when it ended, Herbie Hancock, the evening's featured entertainment and guest of honor, took to the stage with a surprise of his own: jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves, his unannounced guest performer. Down the hall, an after-party (with separate $100 tickets) struck up at around 11 p.m. and featured a lobster-laden buffet, lounge-style seating, and music from DJ Jem. As guests moved from the main dinner room to the after-party, Trotter's on-stage efforts to raise bidding (and the chef's own surprise bid) dominated the conversation.