Dressed to the nines, sipping champagne and noshing on pate, more than
250 Detroiters dance their hearts out in the gothic opulence of the
Masonic Temple on a recent Saturday evening. Candlelight flickers to
the beat of old-school new wave music from DJ Darren Revell, while a
bare-chested
Christopher Leadbitter in a feather headdress interrupts the scene for a surreal, five-minute performance en pointe.
Doesn’t sound like a typical night at the bar? Enter Cirque 2006 — a fundraising party thrown by the
Founders Junior Council, the DIA’s long-standing young professional organization originally created to cultivate new interest in the museum.
Fundraising used to mean raffles and stalwarts, but these days, with
more cultural institutions getting in on the action, the bar has been
raised. Fundraising parties have been transformed into extravagant
social events, and are now the highlight of many a young Detroiter’s
social calendar. Although no one fesses up to it, there seems to be a
silent competition driving these organizations to throw bigger, better
and more eye-popping events.
Parties with perks
FJC’s Fash Bash has been the ultimate, end-of-summer glamour-event of
the year for the past 35 years. It fuses sit-down dinners with big-name
designers (Carlos Miele and Roberto Cavalli to name a couple) and
frivolous extras, like strolling acrobats.
But Cirque is building a following of its own. “This was my favorite
event,” says FJC president Joe Posch about Cirque. Cirque featured a
pre-party with a raw bar and live jazz trio, as well as more
performances later in the evening by drag performer Robert Mitchell and
a burlesque act by Sparkly Devil. “People really let their hair down.
It was a throw-down good time. Then we had an after-glow at Centaur —
and the party just kept going.”
But this brand of event does not come together without great effort and
commitment. Posch says a team of about six or seven FJC members began
planning and organizing Cirque 2006 last October. Of course, you don’t
have to be a hard-working member of the group to attend the big
fundraising party — just put down $75 for a ticket (remember, it’s a
good cause) and enjoy.
Membership, however, has its privileges. Those who opt to join cultural
fundraising groups get social perks, like members-only parties,
discounts and social outings, as well as a sense of belonging and
contribution.
In addition to the DIA’s FJC, the Michigan Opera Theatre has its
Encore! group, which sponsors an annual BravoBravo! fundraiser; and the
Charles H. Wright African Museum of American History
has its Contemporary Friends (their first-ever Fireball fundraiser last
year came tricked out with a who’s who VIP section of cabanas and
personal waiters).
“I’ve met some of my closest friends through Encore!,” says Vittoria
Katanski, the president of the Michigan Opera Theatre’s young
professional organization. “We’re based on ages 25 through early 40s.
It has really broadened my social group. I’m meeting people outside
advertising — the people I usually meet through work — and I’m meeting
architects, bar owners, leaders in the city.”
This burgeoning group of more than 500 paying members hosts events
ranging from Libations, a mingling event at the Opera House, to the
annual
BravoBravo!,
their largest annual event, which is coming up May 5. Supporting the
ongoing restoration of the Detroit Opera House, BravoBravo! is also
turning into quite a party. More than 30 Detroit restaurants, counting
Opus One, Small Plates and Vicente’s among them, serve up restaurant
specialties, alongside the annual roster of a silent auction, art and
entertainment. This year, three salons will be giving an artistic,
on-site hair performance, called “Hairball,” set to music by a band and
DJs.
When Encore! isn’t working on BravoBravo!, which has raised more than
$125,000 for the renovation of the Opera House in the last eight years,
many of its members take advantage of the discounted ticket prices and
volunteer opportunities. Last year, a group of them planted flowers at
the Opera House.
For a good cause
Posch has his shtick when it comes to fundraising — “Do you like art?
Do you like to drink? Then you should come to the FJC parties” — but he
gets more serious when the talk to turns to membership.
“If you really want to be a part of Detroit, you don’t just meet people
at the bars and hang out. You get involved. And part of getting
involved is patronizing and being a member of your museum — and the
extension of that is being a part of the young professional
organization,” he says. “It’s not meant to be a civic duty, but if
you’re committed to a life here, you’re going to meet people that
you’re going to know for the rest of your life. This is putting down
roots. It’s being a young person, developing your life in a city.”
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra
is in the process of launching their own group of young supporters,
called New Leaders, this fall. They’re currently accepting nominations,
from which they will select 30 people to act almost like a class — and
each year there will be a new class to cultivate. The New Leaders will
participate in an educational and social program, which involves a
learning series of four dinner and concert events with after-glows.
Then, as a grand finale of sorts, they’ll organize a younger, more
contemporary component to the annual June gala.
“We’ve noticed younger people, but there hasn’t been a way for them to
be involved,” says Jessica Allen, special events coordinator for the
DSO and founder of the New Leaders. “They just slip in and out without
feeling involved. We wanted to change that.”
Allen says they’re hoping the New Leaders group gives the younger
symphony-goers an opportunity to organize theme parties — as hip and
young as they want to make them — including cocktail events, dance
parties and social outings around their mutual interests. After their
first, formal year of being inducted into the culture and history of
the DSO, the leaders will be able to do what they want.
“There’s no limit to where they can take it — the hope is their eyes
are opened to things they can do to really make a difference,” says
Allen.
Photos:
Cirque Party at the Masonic Temple
All Photographs Copyright Dave Krieger