It was a gala of a good time!
More than 600 supporters of the Brooklyn Bridge Park trekked out to Pier 2 for the Conservancy’s sixth annual Brooklyn Black Tie Ball and After Party on Thursday for a night of delicious food, dancing, and an overall great time, according to one first-time attendee.
“Oh my gosh, it was so much fun,” said Jean Ervasti, a Brooklynite for more than 30 years who was invited to the gala by her friends, Aaron Marcu and Mary Lu Bilek. Ervasti sat at their table to support their mutual friend, Nancy Bowe, one of the two honorees of the night and current Conservancy board member.
Bowe, the board’s chair from 2011 to 2016, was an active proponent of the park from the beginning and “instrumental” in its creation, according to Ervasti.
“She was involved in the park when it was just a dream on paper,” she said. “And now we can down there [by the water’s edge] and enjoy it.”
The other honoree of the night was Marcus Wainwright, the founder and head of Rag and Bone, a fashion label. The gala started with a cocktail reception on the Promenade and moved to a seated three-course dinner.
Dinner included a beautifully presented appetizer salad to the main course of beef tenderloin with truffled potatoes to the dessert finale of tiny strawberry tarts and stylish brownie bites, according to Ervasti.
And although she was warned prior to going that the DJ would cater to a younger crowd, she was delighted to find the advice sorely mistaken.
“There was all kinds of music, something for everybody,” the Cobble Hill resident said.
This year’s gala raised a $1.27 million, according to Sin Gogolak, a spokeswoman for the event.
Ervasti, who wore a beige flower-patterned coat from local Brooklyn vintage boutique Kimera that drew lots of appreciation, radiated excitement recalling the previous night’s details.
“Everything was great — the people, the food, the music, the views, the cause,” she said. “I was just happy to go to this Brooklyn event wearing something from a Brooklyn-based shop.”
