The sophistication and elegance of Paris was conveyed equally through the décor and the fashionable black-tie attire of guests at La Soirée Fabuleuse, this year’s Hibiscus Children’s Center Winter Gala, co-chaired by Carole Casey and Linda Teetz.
During the cocktail hour, guests mingled and took lots of selfies in front of La Tour Eiffel, the iconic symbol of France, which took center stage as the focal point in the lounge. Instead of the traditional Christmas tree, an easily 8-foot-high Eiffel Tower replica graced the room, twinkling with the blue, white and red colors of the French Tricolore.
“Sue Sharpe called to tell me that Marshalls Home Goods had an Eiffel Tower, and I’m thinking this high,” laughed Carole Casey, referencing something around table height. She credits Dick Duch with stringing it with the patriotic lighting scheme. “I’m so pleased; listen to this room. It’s bubbling like champagne.”
As wait staff in red berets and neckerchiefs and attractive Follies-style girls distributed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, attendees perused a large selection of donated silent auction items and read about the various live auction trips they would later be persuaded to bid on by County Commissioner and auctioneer Wesley Davis. Many also purchased raffle tickets hoping to be the lucky winner of a lovely blue topaz and diamond pendant with its white gold chain, donated by John Michael Matthews Fine Jewelry.
“I’m in my Picasso stage,” said Teena Jackson, looking oh-so French in a black beret and Picasso-inspired yellow top.
For an added touch, John Pearse had not only donned a beret, but had blackened in a Parisian pencil-style moustache.
The très élégant dining room was decorated by Fé Domenech of The Event Firm International, highlighting a stunning black, white and red motif. A French-inspired menu of Lobster Thermidor and Chateaubriand finished with sinfully rich Chocolate Marquise Cake and Strawberry Mille Feuille. Orlando’s Private Stock Productions entertained with energetic dance music and a rousing, ooh-la-la cancan performed by four limber dancers.
“I think it’s spectacular,” said new Hibiscus CEO Paul Sexton. “If I had to take anything away from my two months here it’s that this community is superior in terms of generosity and friendliness. And at the end of the day, everything they do is for the children.”
Although the French theme had been chosen well before the slaughter of innocents in Paris last month, that tragic event, along with those in San Bernardino and elsewhere around the world, gave the evening special significance. But it is a different type of home-grown terror that annually draws attendees to Hibiscus events – the terror felt by neglected, abandoned and abused children at the hands of their own parents and relatives.
Hibiscus provides a wide range of programs and services to those children from Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties through its safe and secure residential facilities; in Jensen Beach for newborns to 12-year-olds, and in Vero Beach for youth ages 12 to 17. Hibiscus also provides mental health services to hundreds of children and families, and last year alone assisted 30 youth impacted by human trafficking.