The Animal Rescue League of Boston skipped the black cats typical of Halloween decor in favor of real-life creatures, hosting its annual Moonlight Ball at the Boston Design Center in South Boston Saturday night with a guest list that included League supporters and pets.
The Boston Design Center’s soaring lobby held the evening’s 200 guests—including some costumed pups—for a pre-gala cocktail reception, with drinks by local purveyor Berkshire Mountain Distillers and hors d’oeuvres by Choice Catering. The black-and-white-draped entrance featured the iconic, often subtly macabre imagery of the late author and illustrator Edward Gorey (one guest paid homage to the author with a Gorey costume), lending a chic, ghoulish vibe to the space that replaced the typical Halloween palette with black and silver and pops of deep color.
"We took our color cues from fashion, going with purple, which is very popular this year, and with black and silver," said Andrew Anderson, co-owner of Ilex Designs, who designed the event. "We wanted to make the space feel like Halloween without using orange and black." The Moonlight Ball, an annual fund-raising gala for the Animal Rescue League, took stock of the reality of the current economy and scaled back, without sacrificing sophistication, according to Anderson. "We wanted to rebrand it and simplify it, even though we had a very grand tent. It allowed us to have a blank slate to start from and still keep high design elements, like black chandeliers and black floors."
The evening’s main event—a seated vegetarian dinner and award ceremony conducted by animal supporter and local news anchor Randy Price—took place in a tent on the Design Center’s entrance courtyard, where Anderson pulled in purple, green, and red florals against a backdrop of black and silver table linens and black crystal chandeliers. Dessert included lemon and chocolate cupcakes by Kickass Cupcakes, mini gelati and sorbetti cones, and animal-friendly “pupcakes.”
Moonlight Ball guests were not only brought face-to-face with the four-legged friends their dollars and time help support, but also got a glimpse of the Animal Rescue League’s work through a video presentation about the League and an introduction to Turtle, a pit bull rescued by the League who now has a consistent home.
