Everyone’s happy at Jammin’ to Beat the Blues patrons party

Jam on

Published On: May 27, 2010

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I.C. HOPE, Ambassador for Mental Wellness representing the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee, greeted Patron Party guests on the front steps of the fabulous Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired home of Linda Brooks in Hill Place. The 6-foot-tall fluffy duck wears a band-aid on his head to show that mental illnesses are real (and treatable) and a life preserver around his neck to demonstrate that each life is worth saving. He carries his message of hope into the schools providing a lighthearted way to educate children about issues affecting them such as anger, stress, bullying, body image and self esteem as well as eating disorders, depression and grief.

On this particular evening, however, I.C. HOPE was joining the fun at the kick-off festivities for MHAMT’s annual Jammin’ to Beat the Blues concert featuring Vince Gill and Friends at the Ryman Auditorium. Just because their work is so very serious doesn’t mean the folks involved with the Mental Health Association don’t know how to have a good time. While cocktailing and listening to the sophisticated tunes of pianist Erik Blue, they wandered—noshing and chatting—from one imaginative “foodscape” to another—all designed by Memphis caterer Robert Hayes.

Festive paper parasols, dogwood branches and a Chinese statue bedecked the dining room table laden with sushi served with tiny sauce dishes and enameled chopsticks. In the living room, quail eggs topped with caviar nestled inside a huge porcelain high-heeled shoe. In the conservatory, desserts included Key lime crème brûlée in Chinese porcelain spoons and tiramisu in demi-tasse cups.

In addition to a bountiful silent auction, party-goers had a chance to flex their live bidding muscles on a Gruhn guitar autographed by such greats as Kenny Rogers and Tanya Tucker as well as a vintage sapphire ring, a 120-inch rope of pearls and an escape vacation to Los Angeles with all the fixins’.

As guests departed with armloads of auction loot anticipating the upcoming concert at the Ryman, perhaps some also thought about all the good work MHAMT has done for the community during the last 64 years. In addition to the I.C. HOPE program, the agency has others dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, suicide prevention and assistance for those in need of professional help. SN

—photographs by
eric england