This year's theme—Back to the Future—took guests back in time to six Olympic venues of the past century, then into the future to Athens, this year's host city. The journey in time was brought to life by event planner and producer Bruce Sutka of Sutka Productions International, who has orchestrated all prior Denim and Diamonds events. Held at the Expo Center within the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach, two hangars were transformed into virtual recreations of former Olympic sites including Tokyo, Paris, Mexico, St. Louis and Los Angeles. The Fairgrounds was a new venue this year for the gala (it used to be held at the Polo Club) but with more than 2,000 guests attending, the event's chairwoman Beverly Lake Wilkes said, "It's all about space—parking space, party space and...potty space. All of a sudden these basics take on a new importance."
Incorporating the theme into the cuisine, Special Impressions—the Breakers off-premise catering facility—provided ethnically diverse food indicative of each region. The Tokyo area featured dim-sum and soba noodles; Paris catered to the wine and cheese crowd. Mexico featured a build-it-yourself taco stand while St. Louis tapped into the carnival arena featuring snow cone and cotton candy stands provided by It's a Party. As for entertainment, each city had performers in ethnic costumes along with amusement rides. Rosstyn Ice Shows provided arctic fun and there was even a carousel and a super-slide. Guests could dress up in inflatable costumes and participate in sumo wrestling, have their caricature sketched by an artist or even bare some skin for a body painting artist. Hy-Lite Productions lit up the interior space with gobos, theatrical lighting and other special effects which were instrumental in keeping with the amusement park and carnival scheme. And, staying with tradition, a grand silent auction featured items such as spa vacations, horse riding lessons, autographed works of art and several vintage roadsters.
After taking a trip around the world and visiting these venues, the journey led to the second hangar, which was transformed into a replica of Athens replete with Greek columns and a stage representing the Acropolis. Lighting by Hy-Lite was just as important here as was the talent of AVS, whose images of Greek ruins, columns and stone statues were projected on the walls and on suspended orbs. Adding to the equestrian and mythical moment, AVS also featured a water screen complete with an image of a wing-flapping Pegasus. Providing technical assistance that evening with graphics and electronics was All Digital Video. Table arrangements consisted of columns and Greek busts surrounded by decorations such as LED pins, cowboy hats, Greek corinthian helmets, glow sticks and glow necklaces. These also doubled as take-home goodies.
While Decibels Sound Inc. provided the right sound and acoustics, guests danced in to the evening under a star-lit ceiling—with several disco balls enhancing the imagery. Headlining the entertainment was 70's diva Chaka Khan. Singing some of her best known hits, the crowd sang along and kept the energy level high. Bjorn Again—the world famous ABBA tribute band—followed, overwhelming the already ecstatic crowd with their performance. "While we incorporated much of the best of past Denim and Diamonds, we definitely brought in some new surprises," Phelps said. "We promised to make this a night that Palm Beach and the equestrian world will remember for the rest of their lives."
—Jose Gomez
