The Prevent Cancer Foundation welcomed some 800 guests to the National Building Museum on Friday for its annual spring gala, this year designed around the country of Peru (last year saw Turkey, 2007 was Ireland). After guests filtered through the coat check, they warmed up with the country’s signature drink, a frothy pisco sour. A backlit bar in the center of the cocktail area, staffed with 10 bartenders, served other Peruvian beverages such as Cerveza Cusqueña and Inca Kola. And the theme didn’t stop there: Waiters passed out small meatballs and bite-size olive sandwiches from Design Cuisine, and a two-man band—provided by the Embassy of Peru—played music from the Andes with pan flutes and other indigenous instruments.
Satiny drapes created a separate cocktail reception area and dining space in the giant venue. “Since the National Building Museum is a large open space, we needed to create a more intimate and warm environment, while adding color and movement to the design,” said New York-based event designer David Tutera, who produced the event with the foundation's director of special events, Linda Chastain. “We incorporated beautiful red and white draping into the design to honor the Peruvian flag.”
In the dining space, red linens topped the tables, but the tableware and accents on each differed slightly from one another. “There were actually four alternating table designs throughout the space—round, long, square, and double-long designs,” said Tutera. “This was purposely done due to the overall size of this venue and number of tables, giving a more dramatic and eclectic feel to the overall design.”
The museum’s giant Corinthian columns and red-and-gold patterned carpet blended well with the evening’s design, as did the food. Design Cuisine’s Inca Sampler included ceviche served in a clam shell; a Peruvian potato timbale layered with Dungeness crab, shrimp, avocado puree, cherry tomatoes; and an artichoke soufflé. Local jazz pop band Fresh Air provided entertainment, with the dance floor filling up as the night progressed.
Instead of holding a raffle at the gala—which the foundation has done in past years—organizers opted to create “The Game of Hope” this year, in which guests could make a direct contribution to a specific cause. For example, a $300 donation would pay for 11 prostate screenings at Prevent Cancer's state fair health booths. The causes and prices of each were on a card within the initial invitation. “It seems that people have been more willing to pay it forward, since we’ve raised more money on this pre-gala than we ever did with raffle tickets,” Chastain said.
The event raised $1.4 million this year, which, despite the economy, was a heftier sum than raised at the past three galas. Chastain credits the success to the fact that “we don’t have a lot of speakers, we dote on our guests, and we change the country theme each year to keep things different and interesting.”
