United Cerebral Palsy's annual event "Once Upon a Time" was held in the Courtyard Marriott ballroom, a space awash in twinkling lights and heady jazz courtesy of Rodney Block & The Real Music Lovers. (A slow, boozy rendition of the Gershwins' "Summertime" absolutely slayed.)
Guests helped themselves to buffet-style hors d'oeuvres and, in keeping with the theme of childish wonder, hand-rolled cones of lime cotton candy. A handmade dollhouse with real linoleum floors and handcrafted wire and fabric furnishings, created by UCP client Jason Mason, was among the most popular silent auction items.
Another UCP client, Vivian Hardin, took the stage in a long black dress and played a tinkling, angelic melody on the harp.
Auctioneer Thomas Blackmon revved things up with jokes-amidst-bid-calling, and three guests came away with a week each in a Costa Rican villa, which amounted to a $12,000 take for UCP. Event chairman Al Hodge was one of the most enthusiastic buyers, picking up a landscape by Little Rock artist Matt McLeod and a platinum necklace appraised at almost $20,000.
Later, the dance floor filled up with couples and groups, spinning, bopping and dipping the night away.
High Profile on 09/27/2015