For a moment there, it looked like everyone was going to have to high-tail it down the rabbit hole to stay dry. But with just two minutes to spare, the sky cleared, the deluge stopped and 600 guests were able to enjoy the Birthday Bash without getting sopping wet.
“Our VIP reception was to begin at 5 p.m. and at 4:58 it was pouring,” said museum president Mike Yankovich. “We shut off the generators and catering ovens as a safety measure, and then like magic the sky cleared and we were back in business.”
“A Very Merry Unbirthday” was the theme for the outdoor event that celebrated the museum’s 41st birthday and raised $268,000. Co-chairs Katy Bante and Katie Wickliff report that income exceeded projections by $10,000.
Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter, from the event company helped set the mood by circulating through the party area and posing for pictures with folks like George Karl and Kim Van Deraa. Karl, former head coach of the , and Van Deraa were the benefit’s honorary chairs.
The beauty of A Very Merry Unbirthday is that the buffet supper always plays to the theme, the program is brief and the dance music rocks. This year’s sounds were courtesy of .
offered dishes that included Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum pizettas; Lizard Bill’s barbecued beef empanadas; toadstool tarts and an array of Mad Hatter’s tea party sandwiches.
Sara Carpenter, chair of the Children’s Museum board, helped Bante and Wickliff welcome a crowd that included former Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler; Peter and Meredith Coors; Tamara and attorney Todd Seelman; Andrea Ho, associate national investment strategist for ; Diane Hanfling Reed and her husband, Wiley, lead portfolio manager/senior equity analyst at ; Catherine Goodwillie; Michelle and attorney David Thatcher; Kelly Hodges and Ashly Wolf from the Melvin and Elaine Wolf Foundation; executive director Lisa Hill; David and Kasia MacLeod; Christin Crampton Day, senior director of public relations at ; and president Gary Steuer, who will be traveling to Nashville next week to host an executive roundtable at the . His topic: trends in cultural philanthropy.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
Online: More pictures from this event denverpost.com/seengallery
Scholarship tea
Colorado section of the National Council of Jewish Women presents nine college scholarships at a tea held at the Marriott Denver Tech Center. Joanne Davidson tells who the recipients are in the Mile High Style blog: blogs.denverpost.com
