Charleston Garden & Gun club stories

The second white party in as many days took place on Saturday night at a Legare Street home. The party was populated by SCENE members and held in honor of Aurelia’s Oratorio, the hottest ticket amongst my peers.

Spoleto SCENE White Party

The party itself was pretty hot— in fact it was downright steamy as people crowded onto the second floor piazza and did their best to stay cool in the night air.

Spoleto SCENE White Party

Erin and Elaina England are doing their best to expose the arts to the next generation patron-in-training— in utero! Congratulations!

Spoleto SCENE White Party

Festival grand dames Nunally Kersh (producer) and Julia Forster (director of development) gamely adopted the white-on-white attire edict, as did the gentlemen guests. Take a gander at the host’s shoe:

Spoleto SCENE White Party

Shen Wei is movement
Classical and avant garde
The stage becomes art

– Sue Soderlund

…….

A Living Legend
Smooth and sassy, soft and loud
That’s Ahmad Jamahl

Beat Generation
Poetry combined with sound
Philip Glass on stage
– Ted Soderlund

Not since the appearance of Mikhail Baryshnikov at the festival a few years ago has Spoleto been as starstruck as it was last Friday night at the party in honor of Philip Glass’ Book of Longing. Upon arrival at the Wickliffe House, six people remarked upon various characteristics of Mr. Glass— from his black attire to his sexiness (ahem, Colleen), and I was sent looking for the man with the ubiquitous face. When my path finally crossed with Mr. Glass, he was surrounded by a passel of stargazers.

Party in Honor of Book of Longing

Tents containing intimate seating areas, an enormous rectangular bar, tables laden with hors d’oeuvres, and chefs’ stations covered the venue’s south lawn, which is where I thought the party was centered. A chance venture into the house, to investigate the source of the house music, revealed another expansive spread of food and cocktails. The table-o-cheese was indeed the 2007 Spoleto Festival USA’s the most impressive display of fromage.

Party in Honor of Book of Longing

Hosts Jeff and Wendy Gleim, who own Mediterra Catering and manage the events at the Wickliffe House, sent guests home with boxes wrapped in chocolate-colored satin ribbons affixed with a stickers admonishing recipients to “not open until morning.” I hear each box contained a chocolate croissant, but the people who carried four and five boxes home with them meant the rest of us missed out. The take-away gift was by far the most memorable accent of any Spoleto party.

Party in Honor of Book of Longing

Although my notes are saved to my laptop, which has not yet decided to return to the world of the living, I’m posting some highlights now with a more detailed party recap to come. Feel free to send my beloved laptop a ‘get well soon’ wish or two. Here we go!

When I last left you (and again, my apologies for such an abrupt pause in party reporting), the party for Verdi Requiem had kicked off the final week of patron gatherings.

The next party I attended projected an eerie aura that was not lost on the arriving guests, several of whom commented on the strange vibe emanating from the home. When I remarked that I felt as though we were entering an Anne Rice party, the people around me murmured in agreement, and there was suddenly a lot of “no, you go first” as we faced the massive white marble steps that lead to the front piazza. I was looking for Lestat when I discovered my camera had a flash sync problem that caused an interminable delay with the shutter and resulted in fuzzy images likely to meet Ken Kesey’s approval. As I was leaving, a patron tapped my arm and said, “You know that vampires don’t show up on film, right? They don’t eat either.” It had taken less than five minutes for word of my camera issue to meld with the fast-circulating Anne Rice comment (others drew the comparison, too).

The Wednesday party in honor of Music is Time was an absolute delight. “We are vampire free!” proclaimed one of the hosts as I made my way down the long lane to Lynn Hanlin’s home, which is tucked away at the back end of a deep upper Meeting Street lot. Enveloped by large, lush palms, Lynn’s garden is also water hazard free, flush with places to sit, and charming all the way around. A few employees of Gelateria Modica dished sweet gelato from an umbrella cart, and a buffet of plate-worthy food beckoned guests from the bricked patio— seafood paella, salad, and the like.

Annie Stone, hostess alongside Lynn and Denise Barto, lead me toward the homemade truffles, although I was sidetracked by the lobster ceviche that was served in seashells. What presentation!

Denise and I shared a laugh courtesy of a man seated behind her at medEia who chose an ill-timed quiet pause in the performance to say to his companion, “I don’t get it.”

(Unfortunately, those photos are on my laptop… hope to be able to post them soon.)

Friday was a double-header that started with an early evening garden party hosted by Celeste and Charles Patrick. Held in the garden of their Church Street home, guests entered the party beneath a rather symphonic Capiz shell chandelier that whistled and clinked in the wind. I thought it to be an auspicious sign that Mr. Glass was nearby, but I did not encounter him until the second party.

Charles and Celeste Patrick’s White Party

The garden itself was draped in whisper thin panels of sheer white fabric that danced in the fans that were clipped to the tent poles (all white). Charles and Celeste were clad head-to-toe in white, and they’d asked their friends to don the same. First sight of Charles prompted a laugh as I drew a comparison to Tom Wolfe.

Charles and Celeste Patrick’s White Party

The food, too, was white. Sushi, crab meat, quail eggs, potato soup, cream puffs, and more. Lovely.

Charles and Celeste Patrick’s White Party

At the end of the party, friends of the Patricks hung around to take part in the surprise toast that Randall and Jennifer Goldman had arranged along with Melinda Nicholson to celebrate Celeste and Charles’ 31st wedding anniversary. A multi-tiered wedding cake was presented to Celeste and Charles while Randall read letter of congratulations from Mayor Riley and Melinda lead everyone in a champagne toast. The Patricks, including children Laura and Charlie, are some of the neatest people in Charleston, and it was an honor to help them commemorate such an amazing milestone.

Charles and Celeste Patrick’s White Party

More to come including the party in honor of Philip Glass’ Book of Longing, another white party, and the finale festivities.

Just as party people are starting to slow down citing exhaustion from nonstop activity, the technology in my life decided to go on holiday this past week. First it was my phone (bam!), then a manufacturer’s glitch popped up in my camera (wham!), and finally my beloved laptop crashed (oh no…). All of this on top of wrestling with disappearing blog posts. I have lots of lovely photos and party observations to share, and we are working quickly to get everything fixed. Check back soon!

Penelope Leighton and John Hurshman played host to the patron set on Monday night. The party got a late start thanks to the thundering ten minute ovation that was lavished upon the singers at the Gaillard Auditorium. Held in a former cotton warehouse on Motley Lane, guests performed a pas de deux to navigate their way around the narrow quarters of the home.

The highlight of my night was catching up with tenor Eduardo Valdes, whom I befriended last year at casual cookout my mother and stepfather helped coordinate for performers of La bella dormente nel bosc and several cast members of  Die Vögel. Eduardo even has a snapshot that I took of him singing along to an impromptu performance by Basil Twist and his marionette Stickman.

http://www.eduardovaldes.net/photogallery.htm

Spoleto on!
Ida

The Spoleto Soiree took place on Friday night, and it drew the local PYTs to the Gaillard Exhibition Hall like moths to a flame. The darkened room was accented by a few fabric columns that were illuminated from the inside with South Beach chic shades of blue, green, and pink.

Spoleto Soiree

I am not a fan of trance music— I’ll just put that out there— so I wasn’t thrilled when all of the sudden the party was hijacked by ‘untz-untz-untz’ at an ear-piercing decibel. Where was DJ Moo Moo when we needed him? Fortunately, after approximately half an hour, the volume was adjusted, the playlist veered toward something more danceable, and people began to gravitate to the dance floor.

Spoleto Soiree

The high point of the night, as I alluded to in my earlier post, was David Graham dressed as Andy Warhol. He was Warhol, and he was fabulous. When he sashayed his way to the top of the gold-capped go-go box and began slinging his lithe body hither and yon in spot-on dance moves, the disco balls started spinning, Bianca Jagger rode in on a white horse, Halston sauntered by, and a chorus of angels began to sing. David Graham/Andy Warhol was like magic Kool-Aid, and scenesters lapped it up.

Spoleto Soiree

Since the loud music made it impossible to converse for a time, the food table became an incredibly popular spot. I have fallen off the macrobiotic wagon (hard) and have been treading carefully to dodge the hidden meat mystery hors d’oeuvres, so it was a delight to have Denise Barto, who’d worked with the committee and had insight on the evening’s menu, point out the fare fit for my vegetarian palate. James Burns does not disappoint. Yum! I found the rice paper spring rolls to be divine, and Ryan Bush gave the Kobe corn dogs an enthusiastic nod. Denise, meanwhile, raved about the grilled cheese bites with the tomato soup shots.

Spoleto Soiree

Drinks were served from two bars. The one at the entrance offered pre-mixed cocktails in electric blue and shockingly pink plastic cups with bendy straws, while one along the far wall that slung custom cocktails with a heavy hand.

Spoleto Soiree

All of the tables were covered in kraft paper and adorned with jars of crayons. As the night drew on, the graffiti grew more strident (perhaps fueled by the cacophony and Parrot Bay Rum).

Spoleto Soiree

The man in head-to-toe black body paint who emulated Rodin’s The Thinker blended into the backdrop and startled many unsuspecting passersby. Cathy O’Hara told me that she watched a woman scratch his nose in order to get a reaction and make him break character. Poor guy. He bolted soon after.

Spoleto Soiree

Art is the Party was the theme, and one corner of the room featured an artist on a raised platform with a larger-than-life canvas, on which he painted an abstract mural throughout the event. Several people have subsequently asked me if I know the fate of the final work, which is a parallel thread to the patron party inquiries regarding the Shen Wei canvases.

Spoleto Soiree

Like last year, Soiree was a good party. It was populated with the city’s next wave of movers and shakers, most of whom seemed genuinely excited to be there. I hope the success of Soiree bodes well for membership in the festival’s young patrons group— SCENE.

There was one clear difference between Soiree attendees and the patrons who convene at the post performance parties: I did not hear a single person discuss the Renato Braz performance that was paired with the Soiree ticket.

The patron parties are often scheduled to follow the festival’s opening night of a specific performance; therefore, the party is held in honor of that cast, and the guests, most of whom have arrived straight from the theatre, banter back and forth about the production. The lively post show discourse that transpires deepens the festival going experience and often engages people to think of the performance in broader terms. Yes, the parties are fun, but the festival— with its pageantry, thought-provoking themes, and arresting visuals— is the real focus. Engaging younger people is the mission of Spoleto SCENE, and I look forward to the bridges they will undoubtedly continue to build between young Charleston and the festival as a whole (not just the parties).

Spoleto on!
ida

As if sailing to Bermuda and Spoleto-ing 24/7 weren’t enough stimulation during the past two weeks, I was scheduled to skydive in the upstate yesterday. Alas, I was too road weary to performance and party hop last night (or today). Fortunately, seven fun-filled nights stretch out before us, and there will no doubt be plenty of Fete Set fodder to fill the blog during Spoleto’s last week. Meanwhile, Jonathan Sanchez did a bang-up pinch-hitting job with his fashion coverage at one of the parties that took place yesterday.

……

The Thursday night patron party in honor of both Major Bang and Shen Wei took place on State Street, one block from the Dock Street Theatre, which leant an interactive element that other parties (in non mixed-used neighborhoods) have lacked. As Ryan Bush and I walked to the party, we meandered alongside the departing audience of L’ile de Merlin, and we delighted in hearing the varied reactions to the performance.

Hosts Susan Bass and Tom Bradford hung paper lanterns across their gated garden, which swung gaily in the steady breeze that foreshadowed the blustery weather, which has dominated the weekend. The nearly full, low-hung moon cast an enchanting glow across the sky and may have been responsible to filling the atmosphere with the apparent crackle of energy— guests seemed especially animated at this late-night gathering. (I heard the party carried on until 2 a.m.)

Party in honor of both Major Bang and Shen Wei

The bartender poured glasses of Planters Punch that packed a wallop according to several slow-moving friends who reported back to me on Friday. This is the party, after all, where Nigel said he is on a “liquid diet” and “sacrificing his liver for the arts.” I was standing right there when he said it, but I had no idea the New York Times’ James R. Oestreich was on the other side of Nigel’s conversation until the quip popped up in his blog:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/

…….

Move over Dido and Aeneus, A Servant to Two Masters, Manon Lescaut, Dance Heads at the Spoleto gala a few years ago, sitting in a South Battery cupola at midnight with cast members from the Peony Pavilion, and all the other moments that stand out as among my favorite festival experiences, because David Graham came out from behind the reception desk at Spoleto’s headquarters, channeled Andy Warhol, and blew my mind.

Spoleto Soiree

I have lots to say about Spoleto Soiree (two thumbs up!), but deadlines related to my marketing clients beckon. The full report will be posted soon, and don’t forget to check the photo gallery!
Spoleto on!
Ida

Not to be outdone by her husband Ted, Sue Soderlund penned the following:

Mephistopheles
Why debate Doctor Faustus
The end is Nothing

“I have three favorite things so far this Spoleto. First, the party at 14 George for Mary Ramsay. I turned the pages for a musician and admired how hard they all work. I wondered if he had any idea that the chairman of America’s Arts Committee was turning his pages. Second would be having you capture Meredith in her glamorous hat and me smiling a Jack Nicholson grin with Rainy Evans. My third favorite has been watching all of the ballet.”

John Dunnan, Spoleto board member, president of the Charleston Concert Association, and chairman of the Kennedy Center’s National Committee for the Performing Arts