The Swan Ball 2026 Auction Party Raises Record-Breaking Funds

Guests clad in spring finery filtered past several gleaming Ferraris as they made their way to Belle Meade Country Club for this year’s Swan Ball Auction Party. Inside, servers passed mini beef Wellingtons, pimento cheese toast points and tiny BLTs. Revelers visited with Swan Ball co-chairs Jenny Corts and Jennie Garth Lowe and auction party co-chairs Anne Clayton, Grace Clayton and Ann Williford, and they made sure to browse the evening’s abundant silent auction offerings. Pink palms surrounded a bar skirted in patterned fabric, and a larger-than-life magenta swan floated overhead.

For months, the Swan Ball auction committee has industriously gathered Swan-worthy auction items under the leadership of auction co-chairs Terri Major and Jody Mattison. Terri spent the evening modeling a beautiful David Webb bracelet that was graciously donated by official Swan Ball 2026 jeweler Richters of Palm Beach. (This would prove a wise strategy later in the evening.)

Emcee Hugh Howser warmed up the crowd before award-winning podcast host, fundraiser and auctioneer Jamie McDonald got the action underway. The room came alive, with paddles waving in the air for fabulous experiences — an intimate Napa Valley escape, a grand tour of New Zealand, and an amazing trip to Canada to see polar bears and the northern lights. A bidding war began for the Pappy Van Winkle and beyond collector’s whiskey tasting.

As the evening progressed, the auction grew even more competitive. Fierce bidding for odysseys to Indonesia, Cabo San Lucas, Madrid and Morocco brought the energy to a fever pitch. The evening ended with a quiet bidding war on the David Webb bracelet. Now, whose wrist will we see it on?