Mayor Bloomberg turned up at the Mostly Mozart Festival's opening night gala on Tuesday to introduce the honoree, Richard DeScherer, his lawyer and a personal friend.

"I'll do this introduction quickly as I know you're billing me by the hour," Mr. Bloomberg joked, going on to praise Mr. DeScherer's "outstanding service and unfailing common sense."

Mr. DeScherer, a Lincoln Center board member who has recently been involved in the financing of its redevelopment, named three influences on his life: Mr. Bloomberg; a past chairman of Lincoln Center, Martin Segal, and his wife, Jennie DeScherer.

The evening felt like a family gathering, which was, in fact, the case for many guests. The DeScherers arrived with their son and daughter-in-law. Dawn Greene (whose foundation, named after her late husband, Jerome, is a sponsor of the Mostly Mozart Festival) and Nancy Marks brought their daughters. The president of Lincoln Center, Reynold Levy, and his wife, Elizabeth Levy, brought their niece Sabrina Yudelson.

The evening showed, however, that the concept of family applies broadly at Lincoln Center. It was a greeting of two brothers when the president of Juilliard, Joseph Polisi, said hello to a fellow constituent, the executive producer of Lincoln Center Theater, Bernard Gersten.

The elected officials were like the benevolent cousins with access to funds.

And every family event has an honored, adorable set of grandparents: Mr. Segal and his wife, Edith Segal.

agordon@nysun.com