One Tasty Summer!

– JUNE 7, 2011

downtown magazine (www.downtownmagazine.com)

The walk through Central Park off 72nd street, with it’s vibrant greenery, stone fountains, carving etched stairwells, and gleaming ponds, to the tents of Taste of Summer, reminded the attendees of the root benefit in attending the al fresco event.  Other than TOS’s opportunity to dress up, taste some of the finest food in New York City, mix with an impressive crowd and dance to a world renowned DJ, ticket procedes went directly to The Central Park Conservatory, a not-for-profit organization that manages and preserves Central Park. From the vibrant showing of New Yorkers, both as dressed up partygoers, and as on-shift workers for the cause, CPC clearly has a close-to-home purpose that all seemed enthused to celebrate.

In it’s 16th year, TOS offered guests over 40 gourmet restaurant taste options as well as an open bar, in a grand tent,  lit up with multicolored displays, spotted with plush white coaches, and accented with impressive bouquets of spring lilacs. A dance floor gave a fun alternative to food, beverage and excited chatter, and it later became the destination spot of the party, made possible by the lively mix of popular dance music with old school favorites.

Tickets were sold for $350 each, and a table at the VIP Cafe, which consisted of a restricted, private area, dotted with white, classy summer-inspired table wear, were sold for $8,000 and $12,000. Bouncers restricted The VIP Cafe, but a pink wrist band granted mingling with NYC socialites, merrily relishing in the indulgences signature to TOS.

CPC’s President of the Women’s Committee Gillian Miniter, who is ending her two year term, said she loves early June, because the park is so beautiful, and TOS is the perfect way to kick off the summer.

“(This event) is really fun because it is really casual, and their are great restaurants and music. You can celebrate the park and celebrate NYC, it’s a win-win situation,”

All participating restaurants volunteered their efforts to support the cause, but their generous time and delicious food gained them exposure from the cities most eligible diners.

Swifty’s chef, Stephen Attoe, said his restaurant and home are close to the park, so the CPC’s efforts possess personal meaning to him.

The park attracts business to nearby establishments, so it is important to maintain Central Park as an alluring destination in the city, Attoe said.

There was a wide variety of food, including sweet treats by Serendipity, who served a unique treat of Frozen “Hot” Chocolate. Le Cirque bravely stepped out, serving grilled octopus. Park Avenue gave a creative display of an orange daisy flower bed, poked with sticks of watermelon into the soil. Every food offering was unique and gourmet, and there was no limit to your tastings.

Perhaps to burn off calories from the many tasty treats, Tom Finn, world renowned DJ, and native New Yorker,  kept the energy high for dancing, even though the dance floor stayed  empty for the first hour and half.

“People are eating now, they will be  dancing in a little while,” he said assuredly.

Finn said he said he is on his fourth year DJing for the event because he too, like so many, lives close to the park and therefore is especially interested in maintaining it as the city’s charming retreat.

Just as he predicted, by hour two, the dance floor was full of New Yorkers , in designer cocktail dresses, slick heels, and spring suits.

The crowded dance floor indicated of the overall turnout for the event.

“We have amazing turn out. There are more than 1,000 people here and we are still selling tickets,”Alexis Fedor, from Webster Light Grant Communications, the public relations agency representing the event, said at the beginning of the night.

CPC, due to the generosity of many individuals, corporations, foundations, the City, and organized events such as TOS, provides 85% of the park’s $37.4 annual budget, and has invested over $530 million to date.

Another source of revenue at TOS was the Silent Auction. Every guest received a number upon arrival which assigned them to a particular prize.  They then could make a bid for that prize, by writing it down at the auction table,  Fedor said.

There were unique options up for auction, such as a six month membership to Birkram Yoga, and a private lunch with Isaac Mizrahi. By mid-event, an Eli Manning football had already received a $900 bid.

All businesses  involved with the silent auction offered their services and goods completely for the CPC cause, as well.

It has been said, it takes a village to raise a child, but the TOS reminds us, it takes a city to cultivate and nourish a beautiful park. This is a fact many guests took pride knowing, as they made there way through NYC’s prized jewel, Central Park, on their way back home.

- Vanessa Voigt