For Friday night's Zoo Ball at the Lincoln Park Zoo (No. 9 on our list of Chicago's top benefits), co-chairs Peggy White and Kim Theiss wanted to let guests feel as though they were at an exclusive nightclub.
"This year's co-chairs wanted to freshen up the event," said senior coordinator of donor events Sheena Laird. "They're both really into contemporary music, and they also wanted the event to reference some of the really chic downtown places like the Wit that just make you feel like a rock star."
With a "Rock and Roar" theme in place, the planning team aimed to design an evening in which "everyone would receive some V.I.P. treatment," Laird said. At the entrance, fake paparazzi snapped souvenir photos of guests as they posed on a Harley stationed in front of a step-and-repeat. "That gave the instant impression that this was a rock party," Laird said. "Traditionally, guests have posed for photos in front of the east gate right by the Lincoln Park Zoo sign, but this year the co-chairs wanted to make it feel like you were walking into the Grammys."
Of course, the rock star theme couldn't be fully realized without rock music, so "there was entertainment from beginning to end," Laird said. An acoustic guitarist played for top donors at a carousel-side V.I.P. reception, while performers from the School of Rock serenaded guests in the main cocktail area. A DJ spun lively tracks in the dinner tent. When the meal wrapped up, Dr. Bombay took to the stage while go-go dancers shimmied on pedestals.
