The Proprietors Ball at Hudson Hall Attended by Melvilles
The annual event kicked off "Hudson's Merchants and Whalers," a series of events exploring Hudson's past — good and gruesome.
Jack Higbee and Mary Ellen Higbee with Len Grossman, a Hudson Hall volunteer sporting a headpiece inspired by the event's theme.
A lifesize cutout of Herman Melville presided over the dinner guests at Hudson Hall’s Proprietors Ball on Saturday, May 4. This being the 200th anniversary of the author’s birth — and given Hudson’s whaling origins — Hudson Hall will be presenting a series under the rubric "Hudson’s Merchants and Whalers." Among the presenters of the evening were Allan Melville Chapin, Melville’s great-great grandson (who lives nearby) and cousins. Later, guests went silent during a riveting excerpt from "Moby-Dick" by acclaimed Irish actor Conor Lovett. A celebration of Hudson’s past and future, the Propietors Ball provides the foundation of support that allows it to promote the arts and foster civic and social interaction. The dinner was catered by Swoon Kitchenbar and Le Perche, and Pooky Amsterdam, one of the evening’s co-chairs, made the souvenir artistic cookies for which she is famous. (Note: Don’t miss the full performance of "Moby-Dick" when Lovett returns in October. It promises to be fabulous.)
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Matteline deVries-Dilling, founder of Lite Brite Neon, one of the evening's honoree of this year's Upstate Benefit adresses the gala from the Caboose's caboose.
- Karen Pearson. Courtesy Art Omi.
Olana senior vice president and landscape curatorMark Prezorski, president Sean Sawyer, The evenings honoree Kristin Gamble and New York State Assemblymember Didi Barrett.
- Oxygen House Photo
