A gala to celebrate the University of South Florida's milestone 50th anniversary fed everybody from elected officials to the student body and even a tuxedoed Rocky the Bull, the school's lovable mascot, at a four-course event with many memorable decorative touches and live jazz music."This is a wonderful night of celebrating the milestones USF has accomplished in just 50 short years," stated university president Judy Genshaft.
USF's Jenna Felder, director of university special events and ceremonies, was able to book Tampa's Hyatt Regency Hotel as the venue. Stefanie Berry of SHOWORKS Inc. and her team helped make the event a success by supplying florals, linens, and staging. They draped tables in gold and hunter green satin floor-length linens, and touched those up with gold satin napkins and Chiavari chairs supplied by PKS Rentals of Tampa Bay. Berry and her crew then accented the tables with golden candelabras, black magic roses, and warm hydrangeas. Hues of gold and green—the school's colors—were added to the room, and the company even designed a custom stage set for the event, combining 60 feet of gold shimmer drape backed by a 60-foot LED light curtain. Two metallic, gold-columned screen surrounds flanked the gold drape, and a 30-foot-wide gold contra-H canopy went over the stage up into the ceiling. Audio Visual Headquarters (AVHQ) - Tampa worked closely with SHOWORKS and provided all the necessary equipment, with Bay Stage Lighting illuminating it all.
Kerry Sanders, an NBC news correspondent and USF alumnus, was master of ceremonies for the evening, introducing remarks by USF Board of Trustees chair Rhea Law and president Genshaft. Another alumnus, theater performer Quentin Earl Darrington, backed by the USF Jazz Ensemble, took over from there—dazzling the crowd with live music and his vocal virtuosity. His professional background includes lead roles in national touring companies of musicals such as Ragtime and The Lion King.
The dinner portion of the four-hour event began with a seared lump crab cake with mango relish and balsamic glaze. This was followed up by a butter lettuce with merlot-poached pears, grape tomatoes, mandarin oranges, and caramelized walnuts. The third course of the night featured petite filet with port wine demi and pine nuts accompanied by shrimp spanikopita with Grecian feta cheese and spinach; asparagus and roasted tomatoes were served with golden mashed potatoes. Following all these tasty items were crème brûlée cheesecakes served with caramel sauce.
—Albert del Toral
USF booked the Tampa Regency Hotel as its venue and later hired SHOWORKS to glam it up. The results were elegant and extraordinary.
The stage combined shimmer drape with an LED light curtain, two metallic gold-columned screen surrounds, and a 30-foot-wide gold contra-H canopy.
The decor all matched—from PKS Rentals' gold Chiavari chairs to the SHOWORKS-provided gold satin napkins and gold and hunter green satin floor-length linens.
The entrance was kept simple with yellow, red, and green trees submerged in clear acrylic containers.
Beautiful centerpieces celebrating USF's 50th anniversary were placed throughout the facility.
