Everyone lives it up at Heart Gala

Unstoppable

Published On: March 02, 2010

On a recent blustery February evening, 450 of Nashville's most prominent leaders came together to promote awareness and raise funds for the American Heart Association. Music City's pride and joy, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, was the site of the 2010 Heart Gala, and was just what the doctor ordered to ward off blues during the cold winter months.

As everyone arrived and shed their layers of mink and cashmere, it was time to party. Waiters (too many to count!) offered wine to guests, as they mingled about and bid on the silent auction items. Martini bars dotted the event, encouraging folks to get in on the bidding for items such as a fly-fishing getaway Washington state and excursions to Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans.

Co-chairs Laurie Seabury and Lisa Slipkovich glowed all evening, as they basked in the glory of their assiduous five-month journey of planning the night. Their husbands deserve as much applause as the women, as they were along for the ride by default. Laurie and Lisa did a magnificent job of explaining the importance of healthy lives, free from heart disease and stroke.

The two women delivered some sobering facts, but not before the show-stopping entrance of genuine Chinese dragon dancers—all in keeping with the Asian theme which encompassed the evening. Gary Musick Productions and Amos Gott went to great lengths to provide a dramatic background with giant Chinese lanterns on stage, lavish orchid centerpieces and red lighting. The Symphony's Roger Keenan satisfied everyone's palate with multiple courses including fennel-dusted salmon with polenta cake, roasted lemon pepper asparagus and chocolate and chile pot de crème complete with a chocolate-covered fortune cookie. The Craig Duncan Orchestra kept Late Night party guests dancing well past midnight—which just goes to show that the philanthropic Nashvillians are unstoppable, no matter what the weather. MM

—photographs by

brooke rainey