Press Release
Fernbank Museum’s Fundraising Gala Finds Success in the Tropics with Rainforest Rendezvous: A Timeless Affair 2007
ATLANTA—Fernbank Museum of Natural History celebrated its 15-year anniversary while enjoying its most successful fundraising gala since the Museum’s opening at Rainforest Rendezvous: A Timeless Affair 2007 on October 6, 2007. The evening also celebrated the special exhibition Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, one of the most successful special exhibitions of all time at the museum, and honored long-time Fernbank supporters Mary and Jack Izard as Honorary Chairs.
More than 400 guests attended the sold-out event, which grossed over $430,000 for Fernbank Museum’s programming. The evening featured a seated dinner, hosted bar, live music, dancing, and exclusive access to Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, where over 100 live frogs from around the world revealed the beauty they bring to the natural world with their spectrum of colors, diversity of shapes and sizes, enchanting calls, and incredible ability to camouflage.
Among those in attendance were event Co-Chairs D. Jack Sawyer, Jr.; Margaret Seitter; Georgia Ritchie; and Dr. William Torres. Other notable attendees included former and current elected officials, The Honorable Mark Taylor and Lisa Borders, as well as multiple members of Fernbank’s Board of Trustees; Fernbank President and CEO, Susan Neugent; and representatives from the Presenting Corporate Sponsors BNY Mellon Wealth Management and VIP Gift.
Rainforest Rendezvous: A Timeless Affair 2007 transported guests into the tropical setting of a rainforest with lush décor by Tony Brewer of Tony Brewer and Co. Tropical palm fronds, lush plants and beautiful flowers provided an enchanting ambiance which was highlighted with vibrant green and black linens accentuated with gold and black place settings.
Affairs to Remember provided a delicious seated dinner featuring a first course of roasted red and yellow peppers, grilled artichoke heart and marinated mozzarella composed on Bibb lettuce and garnished with grissino. The main course featured a center-cut beef fillet with port cream reduction and piquante pepper-studded, jumbo lump crab cake with remoulade sauce; served with mashed boniato, carmalized leek, fence greens and baby carrots. Dessert was a sweets-lover’s delight with Affairs to Remember signature “dessert shots” and a pastry display featuring an assortment of miniature desserts such as Kentucky bourbon balls, toffee dreams, chocolate-dipped strawberries, mango tartlets, chocolate mousse cookies, key lime tartlets and more.
Then guests really came alive as prize drawings were awarded with trips to Costa Rica, the Turks and Caicos Islands and London, as well as a magnum of 2003 Monte Bello cabernet sauvignon and a portrait by Robert Beckett. Donned in tuxedos and gowns, a festive crowd later took the energy out on the dance floor as guests got down to the music of Class Act.
“A Timeless Affair at Fernbank Museum was a beautiful, fun and wonderfully successful event this year—possibly the best ever. Everywhere I go, I hear compliments about how much everyone enjoyed themselves,” said Co-Chair, D. Jack Sawyer, Jr. “It was especially satisfying to observe so many people engage in science through Fernbank, even at a black-tie event. If the terrific feedback I’ve received is any indication, next year’s A Timeless Affair is likely to sell out in record time.”
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Since 1992 Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History has provided a gateway for discovery and exploration for all ages, unfolding the story of the earth’s history, the environment and human culture through exhibitions, dynamic programs, and films in the IMAX® Theatre. As one of the South’s preeminent museums, Fernbank’s reputation for innovative programming continues to rise, recently launching public programs in archaeology—featuring the search for Spanish exploration artifacts—and environmental studies—where families and classrooms engage in urban environmental monitoring.
Fernbank is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is regarded as “Atlanta’s Home to Dinosaurs,” a reputation highlighted by Giants of the Mesozoic, which features the world’s largest dinosaurs. Fernbank is also home to the St. Catherines Island Foundation and Edward John Noble Foundation Collection, a collection of one million artifacts from the first Spanish mission site in Georgia.
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