Bright ‘Beginnings’
Miracle Ball outdoes itself in color, atmosphere and philanthropy
One of the most amazing transformations every Christmas season isn’t that of the Capitol dome or the Governor’s Mansion — it’s the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation and auxiliary’s overhaul of Children’s Hall from an empty box into an elegantly themed ballroom. For the eighth Miracle Ball, the theme was New Beginnings, the set motifs were Chinese, and the color palette — from bright red paper lanterns to pergolas strung with cherry blossoms — delighted the more than 500 in attendance.
The meal, provided by Capers, began with a splay of sesame and wasabi-seared Ahi tuna. It continued with a mesclun greens salad with mango and sweet chile vinaigrette and another splay, this time of seared Peking duck. A single-scoop Mandarin sorbet intermezzo- ed the repast, and then it was beef tenderloin with lump lobster and chanterelle risotto cakes. For dessert, it was “Lotus blossom and Double Happiness cakes” created by Jennifer Matsubara of Springdale.
One of the most amazing fundraising moments of the night began when event chairmen Jennifer and Patrick Schueck shared the story of their son Mason’s leukemia scare. That segued seamlessly into the Murphy Miracle Match, a tableside pledge drive that the Murphy family matches up to $10,000 (it raised $88,480), which this year is earmarked for music therapy at the hospital.
The live auction, conducted by host Craig O’Neill and professional auctioneer Thomas Blackmon, outpaced last year’s by several lengths. Last year, the Sun Tracker party barge donated by Bradford Marine & ATV went for $18,500; this year, it was $28,500. Last year a fivenight stay in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, went for $21,000; this year, a four-night stay went for $25,500. Last year the waterfall Harvest necklace (nearly 300 diamonds and 600 sapphires) and matching earrings, donated by Jones & Son Diamond and Bridal Fine Jewelry, went for $24,500; this year’s necklace and earrings were bought for double that by Jerry Langley of Smackover (who has nabbed the last three).
The outlier was the traditional Bale Chevrolet Silverado pickup that went for $25,500 last year; this year it sold — to pitcher Cliff Lee — for less than $22,000.
The highlight of the auction — less for total haul than total surprise — was an overnight trip in a private jet to Durham, N.C., to see the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team play — $14,250. That’s Cameron crazy!
Official attendance for the night was 540, according to the foundation, which is the same as last year. It won’t have the final numbers on the night’s fundraising until the expenses are in, but they expect to have netted more than a half-million dollars. The live and silent auctions alone raised $267,400. — Photos and story by
Bobby Ampezzan