Roberts Printing succinctly conveyed the event’s theme to guests through colorful invitations. Each was assembled by hand, with metallic paper inserts with black foil stamping attached inside the front cover of a Little Golden Books’ The Lion King storybook, creating a piece that was informative, as well as a keepsake.
Entertainment, courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, played an integral role throughout the evening. Showgirls in peacock colors and headdresses adorned with the bird’s feathers, as well as entertainers in snake- and zebra-themed bodysuits and headdresses, greeted guests as they arrived at A La Carte Event Pavilion. In the terrace lobby, the traditional sounds of a three-piece African band accompanied visits from Busch Gardens’ animal residents, including a crown crane and a flamingo, during the cocktail reception and silent auction. Inside the grand ballroom, stiltwalkers in vibrant orange and yellow costumes welcomed guests, while others, dressed as wandering vines or exotic birds, mesmerized attendees. Onstage, local band Hologram set the mood with tunes by the likes of Lionel Richie and Sade, and during the dinner program, African singers gave a stirring performance of Elton John’s “Circle of Life.”
Numerous props and effects created a setting of dusk on the Serengeti savanna, beginning with three hand-painted canvas backdrops, featuring African sunsets in oranges and yellows with black silhouettes of wildebeests, gazelles, lions, and birds among trees and water holes. A six-foot-tall molded foam elephant and lion were placed on either side of the room’s entrance and set amidst ferns, palm trees, and other tropical foliage. Shipping crates, wooden African masks, spears, bongos, and a tiki hut bar—all surrounded by tropical greenery—were placed throughout the ballroom. An African mask in the shape of an antelope’s head hung against a zebra-striped, hand-painted canvas and provided the stage’s backdrop. Bay Stage Lighting conveyed a vibrant sunset ambience with the use of LED and canned lights (along with gobos of grass and bamboo), providing a continually changing lighting scheme of red, orange, amber, pink, blue, lavender, and green throughout the room and against 450 feet of purple and amber sheer organza fabric draped from the ceiling.
Guest tables were decorated with fire orange pintuck satin tablecloths, black polyester chair covers, and polyester zebra-print chair sashes and napkins. A tall pilsner glass filled with orange-colored water and a bamboo reed cone formed the basis of each centerpiece, and each featured an arrangement of flowers and greenery, including orange calla lilies, orange tiger lilies, dendrobium orchids, orange and yellow roses, ginger, exotic leaves, wild wheat stalks, and cat tails. Attendees received a Busch Gardens-branded souvenir bamboo rain stick (a prop that, when flipped, slides millions of pebbles to recreate the sound of rain) at their place settings, with a tag indicating that proceeds from the sticks go to preserving rain forests around the world.
The exotic theme continued with dinner, featuring a first course of adesi, artichoke heart, and chungwa salad with field greens and zeituni, followed by the main course of awaze-marinated petit filet and mtuzi wa samaki with yam cakes fried in niter kibbeh and kachumbari. Dessert was a trio of chocolate mousse with bene seed tuille, Monrovian coconut tartlet, and Kenyan brandy snaps.
the grand ballroom’s entrance.
