On Thursday, January 31st, NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital raised nearly $2 million at the ninth annual Plates for Pediatrics benefit. A collaboration with luxury retailer, Saks Fifth Avenue, the benefit drew over 550 attendees to Cipriani 42nd Street.
The benefit was co-hosted by Dr. Laura L. Forese, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NewYork-Presbyterian and Dr. Gerald M. Loughlin, pediatrician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital, along with honorary co-chairs Michelle and John Antonini.
The event raised funds for several hospital-based pediatric programs including: Child Life Services, a program that helps alleviate children’s fears surrounding the hospital experience by offering activities geared to the social, emotional and educational needs of young patients and their families; The Pediatric Simulation Center, an invaluable teaching resource in medical education that reduces medical errors, creates a culture of patient safety, and improves patient care and the care of newborns; and Residency Education, a three-year pediatric residency program designed to provide a supportive and educationally rich environment through which residents can develop into outstanding general pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists.
Guests included: Dan Benton, Stephanie March, Travis Acquavella, Claire Capello, Natasha de Mallmann, Kate and Andrew Davis, Candice and Brandon Miller, Amory and Sean McAndrew, Bara and Alexander Tisch, Brett and Greg Heyman, Lise Evans, Sana and Todd Clegg, Beth Cayre, Amy and Jim Dieterich, Marcie and Jordan Pantzer, Cristina Alger Wang, and Erica and Joey Samuels. Stephanie Landess served as the evening’s auctioneer.
On Wednesday, January 30th, Jody and John Arnhold hosted a NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE cultivation cocktail reception at their Upper West Side apartment to celebrate Dance/NYC. This marked the sixth year of Dance/NYC’s existence, a non-profit created to advance justice, equity, and inclusion in the New York dance community and the City’s role as a dance capital.
Dance/NYC’s Acting Executive Director Alejandra Duque Cifuentes welcomed more than 75 leading artists and patrons for dance and dance education for this annual event. Guests ranged from Agnes Gund (Philanthropist, President Emerita of the Museum of Modern Art) to Jennifer J. Raab (President of Hunter College), from Larry Keigwin (Choreographer) to David Ulbricht (New York City Ballet Principal).
Jody Arnhold is a leading dance educator and advocate, producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary PS Dance!, founder of the Dance Education Laboratory at the 92nd Street Y, and serves on the Arts Advisory Committee for the New York City Department of Education (DOE), Co-Chair for the creation of the DOE Curriculum Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance, Chair of the Hunter College Dance Advisory Committee, and Advisory Committee of Dance/NYC. Jody and John Arnhold have provided leadership support for ALL ARTS, WNET’s brand-new, unprecedented streaming platform and broadcast channel that offers access to all forms of creative expression from New York and around the world.
The Palm Beach Wine Auction celebrated its 12th year supporting students’ arts education programs by welcoming some 230 guests to the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts’ Gimelstob Ballroom in the Cohen Pavilion on January 24th. The event featured auction lots of remarkable wines and spirits from around the globe, exceptional luxury travel experiences and unique treasures.
The Gimelstob Ballroom was swathed in grey velvet curtains lit with lavender and magenta accents, while the guests’ tables glittered with silver tablecloths and centerpieces of floating candles and tealights. Guests were treated to five decadent courses, each course paired with a special vintage of fine wine.
Palm Beach Wine Auction Chairman Ted Mandes welcomed guests to the evening and thanked the event’s sponsors and longtime supporters, who over the years have raised more than $4 million for the mission of the Auction – supporting the Kravis Center’s goal to enrich local students’ lives through access to the performing arts.
The evening included a number of outstanding signature lots, one of which was “An Unforgettable Experience of a Lifetime in Bordeaux,” a travel experience featuring an overnight stay at Château d’Yquem in Bordeaux, which fetched $32,000 and also includes a visit with CEO Pierre Lurton, lunch at Château Cheval Blanc, dinner at Château d’Yquem and an Imperial of Château d’Yquem 1987 and a Double Magnum of Château Cheval Blanc 2010. Lurton, in the audience for the evening, sweetened the deal during the bidding by announcing he would also give a 1937 and 1967 Yquem to the lucky winner.
Other exclusive lots sold included “Dave and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” a $35,000 dinner for five couples at Daniel NYC hosted by David Page and Ted Mandes and featuring such extraordinary wines as 1961 Château La Mission Haut Brion, 1961 Château Latour, a 1929 Château d’Yquem and a 1945 Taylor Vintage Port. Another luxury experience, a New York City vacation for four with Cornell Vineyards owners Vanessa and Henry Cornell including a dinner at their home, accommodations, first class tickets to New York City, a private tour of the Whitney Museum of American Art, a Broadway show, tickets to a New York Yankees game and two magnums of 2015 Cornell Vineyards Estate Cabernet, sold for $24,000. A Paper Flowers diamond suite featuring diamond and platinum flower cluster ring and earrings donated by Tiffany & Co. fetched $19,000. Two Franck Muller timepieces donated by Mayor Jewelers – one sold during the live bidding for $10,000 and one offered via raffle for $1,000 per chance – brought in a total of $33,000. The highest wine-only lot of the evening was a rare double magnum of 2005 Château Lafleur Pomerol donated by NetJets, Inc., that sold for $10,500.
Throughout the event, guests sampled sublime fare from award-winning Chef de Cuisine Jeff Simms, Executive Chef, Banquets, The Breakers Palm Beach and Palm Beach Wine Auction Chef de Cuisine Zach Bell, Executive Chef, Addison Reserve Country Club, Delray Beach. The first course was an array of seafood delights, including Crab Louis, Maine lobster and fresh pea terrine, citrus salmon mi-cuit and salmon caviar, paired with a 2016 Château D’Yquem ‘Y’ Ygrec from Bordeaux. A second course of sous vide Muscovy duck breast and confit duck leg with foie gras pain perdu and pinot noir cherry gastrique was served alongside a 2012 Alexana ‘Best Block’ Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley. A pouring of the 2005 Château Palmer from Margaux accompanied the entrée, a Snake River Farms ribeye cap with Bordeaux demi-glace served with Wagyu beef short rib cottage pie and shaved winter truffle potato purée.
Michael Troise, retired Auction Director for NY Wines/Christie’s Fine and Rare Wine Department and the evening’s Auction Director, also served as Maître Fromager. He curated a cheese course including Délice de Bourgogne from Burgundy, Winnemere from Jasper Hill Farm, Vermont, Roomano Pradera from the Netherlands and Point Reyes Blue from Point Reyes Farm, California. These were served with a 1985 Fonseca vintage port. A dessert of Tiramisu composed of lady fingers, Grand Marnier and mascarpone completed the dinner.
Palm Beach Wine Auction Sommelier, Certified Sommelier Brian Chamis of Café Chardonnay in Palm Beach Gardens and co-owner of The Vine Post in Juno Beach, returned to the helm for the event’s wine service and was joined by 12 sommeliers to serve the guests.
The Auction capped two months of related special events, including the White Truffle Dinner held at Trevini Ristorante in Palm Beach on December 3rd and the Sponsors Vintners’ Dinner, held at Café Boulud in Palm Beach on January 23rd. Guests of the Sponsors Vintners’ Dinner enjoyed a reception featuring Krug Grande Cuvée and a four-course dinner by Executive Chef Rick Mace. Vintner Samantha Rudd of Rudd Oakville Estate congratulated the Auction on its 12th year and introduced special pourings during the dinner of her winery’s 2014 Edge Hill Bacigalupi Chardonnay, 2014 Samantha’s Cabernet and the 2009 Rudd Oakville Estate Red.
Since its inception, the Auction’s proceeds have helped fund Kravis Center arts education programs such as the S*T*A*R (Students and Teachers Arts Resource) Series, which brings thousands of students during their school day to the Kravis Center each year for diverse performances in theater, dance and music. This season, more than 60,000 students will benefit from the Kravis Center’s performing arts education programs.
The Palm Beach Wine Auction Sponsors are Premier Cru: Broadrick Family Foundation, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Tuny and David Page; Private Reserve: Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, McLaren Palm Beach, Jen and Ed Dudnyk, Susan Hurley Esson, Madeline and Roderic Fink, Imperial Wine Storage, Inc., The Lamelas Family Charitable Fund, Bill and Marilyn Lane Family Foundation, Jane M. Mitchell, NetJets, Inc., Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein, Kathryn and Leo Vecellio, Jill and Bill Wachter; Plus Grand Négociant: Tiffany & Co.; Media Support: Gulfstream Media Group.
The Palm Beach Wine Auction Committee members are Chairman Ted Mandes, Tamara Broadrick, Amos Dare, Ed Dudnyk, Susan Hurley Esson, Roderic R. Fink, Barbara Evans Golden, Cynthia Jean, John H. Kessler, Peter Lamelas, Shelley Menin, Patrick M. Park, I. Jeffrey Pheterson, Michael Rendina, Martin Rivard, Jeffrey Sabean, Laurie S. Silvers, Jill Sloane, Richard Sloane, Michael Troise, Cory Valentine, Kathryn C. Vecellio and Jill Wachter.
For more information about the Palm Beach Wine Auction, visit palmbeachwineauction.org or call 561.651.4320. For more information on the Kravis Center’s arts education programs, visit kravis.org/education.
Photographs by Christopher Duggan (DANCE NYC); Capehart Photography (Palm Beach Wine Auction)
