An estimated 500 people attend hospital fete’s dinner-dance.
By:Jillian Kalonick
Despite the rain and mud on the June Fete 2002 grounds, Friday’s "Star-Spangled Sociable" drew an estimated 500 people for a night of dancing, casino games, an all-American buffet, and Flag Day-appropriate fashion.
Guests from Central Jersey and beyond came out to celebrate The Medical Center at Princeton’s June Fete pre-event. Kati Larson, Erin Dolan and Nancy Williamson of Skillman, Jackie Brendel of South Brunswick and Donna Murray of Princeton served as the dance’s co-chairwomen.
"It’s in part a thank-you event for people who worked on the Fete, including the (medical center’s) Auxiliary members and the steering committee," said Ms. Dolan. She estimated that 20 to 50 percent of "Star-Spangled Sociable" attendees were associated with The Medical Center and its volunteer Auxiliary. The dinner-dance raises a portion of the estimated $200,000 that the Auxiliary-sponsored June Fete 2002 expects to donate to the hospital’s Emergency Department.
Ms. Dolan and the other co-chairwomen sported matching flag-patterned scarves and beaded purses. Ms. Murray noted that the rain and mud prohibited some from wearing their more festive costumes. However, the dance’s attire theme, "vintage Americana, stars and stripes optional," inspired costumes from down-home blue jeans, cowboy hats and boots to authentic 1920s embroidered evening dresses with matching hats. Others eschewed flag pins or ties to wrap themselves head-to-toe in the Stars and Stripes.
Dixieland band Double Take kept partygoers dancing until midnight, and Main Street Catering in Princeton offered across-the-country fare such as gulf shrimp, southern barbecued chicken and San Francisco fisherman’s chowder. For the second year, the Delta Queen Casino added a riverboat atmosphere, offering craps, blackjack and roulette.
June Fete 2002’s "Main Street, U.S.A." theme was chosen well before patriotic wear became commonplace, but it’s nothing new for dinner dance attendees to go all-out for the chosen theme.
"People have been asking us for weeks what to wear," said Ms. Murray. "They really get into it."