Fruit was not forbidden at the 12th annual Magnolia Ball, where the tables, linens, and chair covers were dressed in banana yellow, apple green, and persimmon tones. Kristen Karig Day, special events manager for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, wanted a glamorous, sensual look for one of Tampa Bay's premier fund-raising events, the black-tie gala to benefit the center's Magnolia Lodging Program.
Corina Wian, A La Carte Event Pavilion's designer, worked with Frank Clemente, Lynn McGhee, and Nina Paugh of conceptBAIT to realize Day's vision. One set of tables bore conceptBAIT's patented stretch table and chair covers in sleek yellow and green, while others were draped in looser persimmon fabric tied with a bow. Low green-and-white orchid centerpieces accented the green tables, while sunflowers, roses, and calla lilies in plexiglass cylinders complemented the yellow tables. At the persimmon-colored tables, green calla lilies stood in tall vases flecked with amber-toned glass teardrops and thin copper wiring. The sponsor tables stood out in white linen topped with calla lilies suspended in tall hourglass-shaped vessels. A chandelier of roses, sunflowers, calla lilies, and orchids hung from the ceiling, surrounded by white cloth draped across the ceiling's expanse and awash in beams of light in citrus shades.
The meal was as sensual as the decor. A La Carte's chef James Crawford prepared a first course of Gorgonzola and fresh mozzarella pasta roulade with roasted yellow peppers. The second course featured a grilled petite filet of beef; pan-seared lobster and corn cake with pancetta-wrapped.phparagus; and a three-potato pavé and tomato-infused bearnaise sauce. Dessert, of course, spotlighted fruit, with a red wine-poached pear filled with Chambord .phpberry mousse and finished with a .phpberry coulis and bittersweet chocolate drizzle.
After dinner, the Pointer Sisters performed for a crowd that included presenting sponsors, philanthropists Ted and Marty Couch and ABC news reporter Sam Donaldson, chairman of Moffitt's board of advisors and honorary chairman of the ball. The evening ended with more sweets at the Krispy Kreme/Gulf Florida Doughnuts-sponsored dessert reception, where pianist David Pomeranz from Breezin' Entertainment Productions played classical music.
—Kathy L. Greenberg
Photos: Stephen Rudd
Corina Wian, A La Carte Event Pavilion's designer, worked with Frank Clemente, Lynn McGhee, and Nina Paugh of conceptBAIT to realize Day's vision. One set of tables bore conceptBAIT's patented stretch table and chair covers in sleek yellow and green, while others were draped in looser persimmon fabric tied with a bow. Low green-and-white orchid centerpieces accented the green tables, while sunflowers, roses, and calla lilies in plexiglass cylinders complemented the yellow tables. At the persimmon-colored tables, green calla lilies stood in tall vases flecked with amber-toned glass teardrops and thin copper wiring. The sponsor tables stood out in white linen topped with calla lilies suspended in tall hourglass-shaped vessels. A chandelier of roses, sunflowers, calla lilies, and orchids hung from the ceiling, surrounded by white cloth draped across the ceiling's expanse and awash in beams of light in citrus shades.
The meal was as sensual as the decor. A La Carte's chef James Crawford prepared a first course of Gorgonzola and fresh mozzarella pasta roulade with roasted yellow peppers. The second course featured a grilled petite filet of beef; pan-seared lobster and corn cake with pancetta-wrapped.phparagus; and a three-potato pavé and tomato-infused bearnaise sauce. Dessert, of course, spotlighted fruit, with a red wine-poached pear filled with Chambord .phpberry mousse and finished with a .phpberry coulis and bittersweet chocolate drizzle.
After dinner, the Pointer Sisters performed for a crowd that included presenting sponsors, philanthropists Ted and Marty Couch and ABC news reporter Sam Donaldson, chairman of Moffitt's board of advisors and honorary chairman of the ball. The evening ended with more sweets at the Krispy Kreme/Gulf Florida Doughnuts-sponsored dessert reception, where pianist David Pomeranz from Breezin' Entertainment Productions played classical music.
—Kathy L. Greenberg
Photos: Stephen Rudd