Alligators, owls, and panthers…oh my! These animals were all on the guest list as 500 people descended on Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach for an Everglades Foundation fund-raiser that included a live auction hosted by Paul Tudor Jones, a humorous yet inspirational speech from the Miami Herald's Carl Hiaasen, and a musical performance by "rock 'n soul" duo Hall & Oates. And yes, The Donald made an appearance as well.The night started with a one-hour reception, during which guests took in a jazz performance by four young musicians—a keyboardist, a saxophonist, a bassist, and a drummer—from the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts, while also mingling with the three wild animals provided by McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary, all of which represented common Florida Everglades wildlife.
At 8 PM, guests walked through a canopied tunnel to the ballroom, where they could see the results of the decorative collaboration between Sutka Productions International, Room Service, Hy-Lite Productions, and All Digital Video Inc., while a DJ played pop culture tunes like Billy Joel's "River of Dreams" and The Police's "Every Breath You Take."
Bruce Sutka, Anthony Mason, and David Negri of Sutka Productions worked with L'Oreal to create something that has never been done in the United States—chandeliers with fringes that acted as projection surfaces to showcase three-dimensional images of a baby alligator, pelicans flying, the Everglades horizon, and other such visuals. They also provided two 45- by 20-foot jumbo screens that displayed "ForEverglades" on a leafy green background when they weren't showing Carl Hiaasen speaking or Hall & Oates performing. The company also produced centerpieces of green cymbidium orchids and bare grass for the 53 tables in the ballroom.
"We wanted something that had that natural feeling indicative of the Everglades, but that was also high-tech," explained Sutka, owner of Sutka Productions. "Our contributions stayed true to the theme. For example, we used a lot of earth tones to represent the Earth."
Together with Mike Steighner of Hy-Lite Productions and Ray Lenahan of All Digital Video, Sutka directed the set-up of the lighting using primarily greens and purples. Room Service added white couches and acrylic tables to the mix.
The Mar-a-Lago staff handled the valet parking, the bars, and the food. Their menu consisted of arugula and vine-ripened tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and basil oil and sweet balsamic vinegar; a choice between filet of beef with a port wine sauce or filet of salmon with a tarragon béarnaise sauce, both served with truffle mashed potatoes, baby carrots, and green and white asparagus; and finally, for dessert, milk and dark chocolate mousse cake with praline crunch.
As the event started, New Jersey state senator Bob Smith welcomed all the attendees in a speech that segued into a video presentation about how important the Everglades is to our ecosystem. Several wildlife experts and event VIPs were quoted in the five-minute video presentation, which was followed by a brief and entertaining welcome from Hiaasen prior to dinner being served.
At the conclusion of dinner, Jones presided over a live auction where guests raised their green glow sticks to place a bid on any of the five packages. Highlights included an $80,000 week-long ski package in Aspen, with the winner staying at the historic six-bedroom Sardy House mansion; a $20,000 guided four-night sport fishing expedition to Islamorada; and a sports round-up of hard-to-get tickets and memorabilia signed by Dwyane Wade, Chris Chambers, and other athletes. The auction ended with 15 people contributing $5,000 in scholarship money to help build an Everglades restoration program for future scientists. Next, Daryl Hall and John Oates were introduced, and the duo rocked the crowd until the night's end with some of their more popular chart-toppers like "Maneater," "Do It For Love," and "Rich Girl."
As guests left, they were each given a green and white gift bag, which included a pair of dark blue flip-flop sandals, a white Everglades Foundation hat to help spread the word, one of the sponsors' grilling sauce, and a donations packet for future mail-in contributions supporting the Foundation.
—Albert del Toral
Photos: Sig Bokalders/Sigvision Photography (fringes, ballroom, centerpieces)