By JACK SHEA
Echoes of the Roaring Twenties (think Cotton Club meets The Great Gatsby) will surface this Sunday, August 3, at the Starbuck’s Neck home of Susan and Jim Swartz when Vince Giordano and his 11-piece Nighthawks jazz band serenade at Sunday Brunch And All That Jazz, an inspired fund-raising idea from noon to 4 p.m. to benefit the YMCA.
“We’re closing in on $11 million. We want to get started because prices are rising and building codes are changing so we want to get going this fall. The generosity of residents and the summer people is just unbelievable, despite the economy,” said John Clese, executive director of the Y.
Event co-chairman Tina Miller, who is also general manager of Plum TV, wanted a unique event to encourage a big turnout in advance of fall ground-breaking for construction of a new YMCA building in Oak Bluffs.
The Y has nearly $11 million in the kitty now, needs $14 million to finish construction, and would like to establish a $17 million endowment for the future of its new site across the street from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
“There are so many events now, We wanted to offer something that was unique. A private brunch with a spectacular water view and a twenties band in authentic costume playing period instruments is perfect, we think,” she said.
“Thanks to the generosity of sponsors like Jim and Susan Swartz, who have opened their home to us, nearly 100 per cent of the proceeds will go directly to the Y fund,” Ms. Miller said.
Christine Todd, director of the Y’s capital campaign, noted the event includes a classic brunch catered by the Harbor View Hotel and Resort. “Yes, there will be caviar, lobster and other seafood delicacies, champagne and mimosas, everything you’d expect from a Harbor View-catered event,” she said, noting the Champagne tasting will be provided by Your Market and Our Market.
The Nighthawks, fixtures at several posh Manhattan eateries, combine authenticity with an affection for driving jazzy themes and dreamy standards of the twenties and thirties, complete with tuxes and a bulbous, oversized Kellogg microphone.
Auctioneer Marty Nadler will inveigle bids for a short list of big, mostly nautical-themed auction experiences, including Ray Ellis’s 25 by 35-inch framed and signed print, Moored Cat Boats, and a raffle for a Boston Whaler. Auction items are:
• An Edgartown harbor cruise for six on Moneypenny, a 60-foot Grand Prix racer with Jim Swartz plus an opportunity to crew for a day with world champion racer Ken Read in either a Newport, R.I., or Key West, Fla., regatta on his new STP65 Volvo racing sailboat. Donated by Mr. Read and Puma Racing.
• A seven-day Ritz Carlton Aspen vacation, relaxing and rejuvenating in a three-bedroom Ritz residence donated by John Klein and the Ritz Carlton Club.
• A day of sailing to Nantucket for eight, followed by a day sail in winter 2009 aboard the 36-foot Hinkley Seabreeze. Donated by Kenn Karakul and Jim Held.
• Four nights for six aboard the 90 foot Lyman Morse Tumbleweed out of Lyford Key, Fla., in winter 2009 including three luxury rooms and amenities. Donated by David Murphy.
•Pat and Bob Snyder provide an overnight cruise for four aboard the Resolute, a 54-foot Little Harbor, with captain and cook to the Elizabeth Islands. Accommodations include two cabins with queen sized bunks.
• Round trip airfare for two to the Banyan Tree Residences in Mayakoba, Mexico. The experience includes three days and two nights and a palette of luxury accommodations and experiences at a five star resort. Donated by Banyan Tree Residences.
A limited number of tickets are available for Sunday brunch And All That Jazz by calling Ms. Todd at 508-696-7171, extension 2. Valet parking is available.
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