The Flagler Museum hosted the 2017 Bal Poudré and Soirée Poudré on Friday, February 17th. The evening began with cocktails in the Grand Hall, and continued with a sumptuous dinner in the Grand Ballroom.
Bal Poudré Co-chair Jean Doyen de Montaillou said, "The Flagler Museum is a jewel of American history and a premier center of education for all. We are so pleased to be raising funds to support the Museum’s education programs for children.”
Bal Poudré guests then continued from the Grand Ballroom to the Museum’s Flagler Kenan Pavilion to join the Soirée Poudré, a new tradition that began in 2015. Co-chairs for the Soirée Poudré were Elisabeth and Adam Munder. Hosted by the Whitehall Society, the Museum’s next generation of friends and supporters, guests enjoyed cocktails, entertainment, and dancing. The Flagler Kenan Pavilion, built to house Henry Flagler's Railcar No. 91, was designed in the style of a 19th-century railway palace. A black and white photo booth and caricature artists offered keepsake mementos for party guests. A lounge area staged with vintage furniture, hidden behind billowing, floor-to-ceiling curtains gave the illusion of a cool speakeasy. The crowning piece of travel-inspired furniture was the one-of-a-kind ticket booth bar, where bartenders served Southsides and other Gilded Age-inspired cocktails.
The evening was a great success with proceeds from the event benefitting the Flagler Museum's education programs for children.
Bals Poudré are literally powdered wig balls, and were popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, both in America and in England. For example, in England, the Countess of Warwick loved to host Bals Poudré. In America, Bals Poudré were an interesting fusion of America’s fascination with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI and America’s hero worship of George and Martha Washington. Bals Poudré were typically hosted around the time of George Washington’s birthday, in late February or early March, which coincided perfectly with the end of the Season in Palm Beach. On March 3, 1903, the first Bal Poudré in Palm Beach was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Flagler in Whitehall’s Grand Ballroom. It was described in a newspaper account of the time as, “One of the most sumptuous social affairs ever attempted south of Washington.” From that first Bal Poudré at Whitehall in 1903 sprang all of the galas hosted each year for which Palm Beach has become so well known.
Click Here to Watch the 2017 Bal Poudré and Soirée Poudré Highlights Video
The February 17, 2017 Bal Poudré was a spectacular event in support of the Flagler Museum’s education programs. A very special thank you to all our Event Co-Chairs and our 2017 Bal Poudré Sponsors, including:
2017 Bal Poudré Co-Chairs
Kamie Lightburn
Jean Doyen de Montaillou and Michael A. Kovner
2017 Soirée Poudré Co-Chairs
Elisabeth and Adam Munder
Corporate Sponsorship provided by:
Bal Poudré Host Committee Members
Mary-Randolph Ballinger
Holly Johnson Bartlett
CeCe Black
William Bransford Blundin
Paula and Bob Butler
Patricia and John Chadwick
Mary Davidson
Lucy and Nat Day
Mark F. Gilbertson
Roe Green and Michael Di Sio
Audrey and Martin Gruss
Myrna Haft
Peter Heydon
Jo Ann Hoffman
Ann and Charlie Johnson
Kyle Kahriman
Marianna and George Kaufman
Eleanora Kennedy
Richard Lightburn
Christina and Ben Macfarland
Susan Malloy
Nicole and Trip Mestanas
Muffy and Donald Miller
Tamara and Richard Morgenstern
Mario Nievara
Nancy and Michael Peacock
Amanda Polk
Natalie Pray
Beth Smoker Priest
Ellen and John Reid
Annette Rickel and John Leone
Deborah and Chuck Royce
Leezy Sculley
Lesly Stockard Smith
Elizabeth Stribling and Guy Robinson
Nicky Taylor
Jane and William Told, Jr.
Meredith Townsend and William Blind
Christopher Walker
Laura and Shakir Wissa
Benefactor Sponsors
Paula and Bob Butler
Jean Doyen de Montaillou and Michael Kovner
Samuel J. and Connie M. Frankino Foundation
Ann and Charlie Johnson
Kamie and Richard Lightburn
Patron Sponsors
Lynn and Robert Hanke
Thomas S. Kenan, III
Betsy K. Matthews
George G. Matthews
Jean and William Matthews
Deborah and Chuck Royce
Premier Sponsors
William Bransford Blundin
Janet and John Cafaro
Brantley and Peter Knowles, II
Nancy and Ellis Parker
Natalie Pray
Annette Rickel and John Leone
Kathryn and Leo Vecellio, Jr.
