The rain didn’t stop some 500 guests from coming out for a night of food, drinks, music and, yes, mingling at the 8th Annual Music & Mingling gala at the Saratoga Polo Field this past May. “It’s a mingling party. Obviously, I think that people come because they want to support the Senior Center, but I do think it’s a great business networking event that people look forward to every year,” says Lois Celeste, Executive Director of the Saratoga Senior Center, the event’s beneficiary.
Trust me, the event’s highlights—a delicious buffet by Old Daley Custom Catering, an open bar, a photo booth with beautiful hats from Saratoga Trunk for accessories, music by Grand Central Station and a Veuve Clicquot tent, where guests could open champagne bottles with a sword (yikes!)—were just as enticing as the mingling. “Eighty-five percent of our funds go toward programming,” Celeste says. “We’re making sure we try to meet the needs of the growing senior population. These fundraisers are just critical to that support.”
With $135,000 raised—almost $25,000 more than at last year’s event—the Senior Center is poised to offer great programming to Saratoga’s seniors in the coming year. As for me? I’m looking forward to the great programming (not the least of which is the champagne sabering) at next year’s event. Take a look at some of the photos from the party in the above gallery.