The Charleston Stage Wine Auction and the Green and Lean 5K
Charleston Stage’s Wine Auction, held last Thursday at the Gaillard Auditorium, was a sumptuous affair for the senses. Featuring both a silent and live auction stocked with luxury goods and getaways, this was the 12th incarnation of the wine auction, which raises funds for the local theatre group that needs assistance now more than ever as it was recently displaced from its home at the Dock Street Theatre (renovations are expected to take a minimum of two years).
The seated dinner portion of the evening took place in the exhibition hall, a vacuous cinder block space that was transformed into a warm and inviting space that was infused with a rich palette of russet colored linens and 1,600 roses that were flown in from Ecuador two days before the event.
The theme this year—La Bodega— gave rise to a softly-lit atmosphere and inspired me to go home and reread The Cask of Amontillado (Poor, poor Fortunato. In pace requiescat.).
A total of 15 restaurants, including Cypress, one of the restaurants founded by the late Tom Parsell who was remembered during co-chair Melinda Nicholson’s welcoming remarks, prepared unique three-course meals for the attendees. I dined at one of the tables catered by Muse along with the other auction co-chair Celeste Patrick, and they were kind enough to serve me a vegetarian option in lieu of the lamb. Thanks. Interestingly, every restaurant served meat as the entree although a few offered a seafood pairing.
Not long after dinner began, the theatre company’s resident acting interns along with several local actors performed an excerpt from the upcoming production of Beauty and the Beast (December). The appropriately-titled Be Our Guest was just one of several performances staged throughout the evening including a sing-off that pitted the male interns against the female interns in a battle of the sexes quest to see who could raise the most money.
My favorite auction item appeared midway through the live lots—a flight over Charleston with Frank Glenn aboard his fully restored 1948 yellow Piper Cub. I daresay I saw that plane buzz the bridge as I was driving into town the other day, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. What fun!
To pay for Thursday’s late night frivolity, I kick-started the weekend at the second annual Green and Lean 5K, a race hosted by Lowcountry Earth Force and the Keep Charleston Beautiful initiative. Volunteers doled out army green race shirts to the roughly 200 people who arrived at Brittlebank Park in time for the 8 a.m. start. The race wound around Hampton Park before returning to Brittlebank for the awards and post-race spoils (bananas and coffee). Lowcountry Earth Force is working to initiate programs that “enable young people to lead community action projects focused on creating sustainable solutions to local environment issues in the community.” To learn more, visit their website: www.earthforce.org
Best,
Ida
