Jewel Ball waltzes back to the Nelson
It’s home, sweet home for next month’s Jewel Ball.
After a seven-year run at Starlight Theatre while the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was undergoing renovations, the town’s crème de la crème fundraiser is returning to the museum in all its glory.
On June 21, 26 young women will curtsy in Kirkwood Hall once again as they are presented to family and friends now that the museum remodeling is complete, and the new Bloch Building is open to the public.
For the last seven years many a ball chairwoman and Starlight staffer had spent countless hours figuring out how to set up the party. Their strategies included massive numbers of flowers and draperies, as well as bringing in an air-conditioned tent that attached to the back of the stage area.
And for the most part, they were successful at pulling off an elegant evening worthy of the Jewel Ball, a benefit for the Nelson as well as the Kansas City Symphony.
But it just wasn’t the same as being at the Nelson, where you’re surrounded by beauty in every corner, and you get that awesome feeling of being a part of Kansas City history and tradition.
That said, this return-to-the-Nelson ball will be different from days of old. The museum now has a new wing, and ball chairwoman Lisa Schellhorn will take advantage of the space. She’ll divide her 1,500 guests among the lobby of the Bloch Building, Rozzelle Court and Kirkwood Hall.
Debs curtsying, food, drink and dancing will be plentiful throughout all of these areas, and the traditional waltz will be in Kirkwood Hall, as always.
The debs, whose families have contributed to the civic and cultural landscape of Kansas City, will be presented at the ball on the arms of their fathers, and they will curtsy before Estelle Sosland, who will represent the museum, and Shirley Helzberg, representing the Symphony.
The debs will start at one end of the museum, in the Bloch Building, and make their way west, up a staircase in their long, white gowns and white gloves, and into the grand halls of the museum.
And I’m sure they’ll realize how lucky they are to be the first debs to be part of this special night so many Jewel Ball supporters have been waiting for, patiently, since 2001.
Beth Morrison and Matt Hoey ponder a list of auction items during a benefit at the InterContinental Hotel for the Irish Museum and Cultural Center.
Isabella Privitoch (left) and Lexi Foster enjoy their special night out during the benefit for the Children’s Spot at St. Luke’s Hospital. The “Once Upon a Time” fundraiser was held at the Marriott-Muehelbach Tower and featured elaborately decorated tables and a variety of entertainment for children.
Morgane Danielle Bruce, with her parents, Ward and Denise Bruce, was among the debutantes at the Delta Sigma Theta Cotillion 2008 recently at the Westin Crown Center.
Dan Barnett (left), co-emcee of the Jazz Outreach benefit for Swope Health Services, joins Ron Wilson at the Shops on Blue Parkway.
Don and Adele Hall hosted a City Union Mission fundraiser recently at their home, where they addressed the guests.
