Maine is a laid-back, casual state, where jeans will do for most any gathering. But when the rare occasion demands bow ties and gowns, hardy Mainers won’t be deterred by a blustery storm dumping more than a foot of snow and shutting down schools and businesses across the southern half of the state. Instead, they throw on their Bean boots and make the best of it.
This was the case Thursday night, when the Contemporaries membership club at the Portland Museum of Art held its always popular Winter Bash in the midst of one of the season’s only snowstorms. Called Voila, the bohemian black-tie party attracted 200 people and served up a well-executed French theme in recognition of the recently opened show “Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist.”
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Some intrepid partiers even bought their tickets in the midst of the flying snow.
“I sold a dozen tickets today and a few memberships,” Will Cary, the museum’s member services director, told me during the party. He added that for guests who didn’t make it, “the baby sitter canceling was the biggest thing.”
The party offered French hors d’oeuvres, a top-shelf champagne tasting and cocktails mixed with St. Germain liqueur.
“We’re trying to re-create a Paris feel,” event committee member Bree LeCasse told me as we stood in the swirl of the Great Hall. “Here it’s more of a street feel and downstairs is an absinthe bar and cafe, and (photographer) Nathan Eldridge is doing portraits.”
Towering over the crowd were three sculptures created by artist Pierre Vezina specifically for the party. Spindly metal legs represented different ballet positions and gauzy tutus added an ethereal effect.
“It’s a nice French vibe with a nod to Degas,” said Brett Johnson, who served on the event committee and recruited Vezina to create the installations. “It’s fabulous that everybody braved the snow. It’s a testament to the Contemporaries.”
The Contemporaries group formed in 2007 as a way to get young professionals excited about the museum’s vital cultural role in the community. Since then, it has brought hundreds of new members into the museum fold and its parties have developed a reputation as can’t-miss affairs.
“It’s so nice during the winter to be out and around color and people,” event committee member Celine Frueh told me. “It’s a fun group of people.”
She and I were chatting near the easels museum staffers Caitlin Brooke and Lindsay Garcia were using to sketch the well-dressed partygoers.
“I’m just trying not to make it seem like I’m staring at people,” Garcia said of her sketching technique. “I’m getting to people-watch legitimately.”
The event’s Bohemian black-tie dress code brought out long black evening gowns, brightly colored short dresses, jaunty hats, head scarves and chunky jewelry.
Event committee member Laura Bergeron sported a long gown with a halter top and a multicolored paisley print.
“I bought this yesterday,” Bergeron confessed.
Last-minute wardrobe decisions were a common theme among guests, with the primary dilemma concerning footwear.
Melissa Duffy, who wore a black, red and blue patterned wrap clasped in front with her great-grandmother’s 1920s-era pin, said she and her husband, John Duffy, struggled with the issue of shoes before they got out the door.
“We debated, do you wear nice shoes or do you wear boots and bring your nice shoes in a Bean bag?” she told me. In the end they went with the Bean bag option.
Matthew Bakis and Julie Farris, decked out in a tuxedo and a black and white gown respectively, live in Portland and walked through the storm to get to the party.
“I had my Bean boots on,” Farris said.
So did many, many other guests, as the coat room was lined with winter boots and Wellies that had been swapped out for party shoes.
According to Tim Seavey, Bohemian black tie turned out to be a good choice for the inclement weather.
“You can interpret it however you want,” Seavey said.
And as Frueh told me, “That’s kind of the fun of Portland – the pressure’s off.”
But not for the Contemporaries, who with each successive event further increase their reputation for hosting some of the best parties in town. Even in a snowstorm.
Staff Writer Avery Yale Kamila can be contacted at 791-6297 or at:
akamila@pressherald.com
Twitter: AveryYaleKamila
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