The Red Sox may have blown their chances at a World Series win, but there was a feel-good Fenway vibe at the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel Friday night as the American College of Trial Lawyers kicked off its weekend-long annual meeting. For the first meeting held in Boston in almost 20 years, the organization hosted 1,150 guests at a baseball-themed reception put together by L.A.-based Eventworks.
“Our main goal for tonight is to create an environment that’s fun, and that represents the city,” said executive director Dennis Maggi. “Being in Boston, baseball was the first thing that came to mind.”
Guests poured into the hotel’s lower-level foyer, where vendors hawked soft pretzels, decor elements included World Series pennants, and a brass band played at the corner of “Yawkey Way" and "Lansdowne Street.”
Guests then proceeded for dinner and dancing in the grand ballroom, which was replete with foam finger centerpieces and a stage set against the backdrop of a Green Monster wall. Guests were encouraged to celebrate the theme by dressing casually, and many obliged with T-shirts and caps supporting the Red Sox, and quite a few other teams as well (even the Yankees).
Kicking off at 7 p.m. and running until 11 p.m., the party spanned the same time slot as the playoff games. Lucky for the die-hard fans, the smaller, quieter Commonwealth Room was outfitted with two big-screen TVs showing the game, along with an appropriate selection of buffet food—New England clam chowder, franks, and Boston baked beans.
The evening was a precursor to Saturday’s black-tie soiree honoring the the organization’s newest inductees, as well as its first-ever female president, Boston native Joan A. Lukey.
