Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Halloween came early for supporters of the Central Park Conservancy, who were transported Wednesday night into a haunted forest – under a tent in Central Park. The evening’s elaborate (and evocative) invitation, opened up to a night image of trees, lit up by flickering white lights.
About 600 guests creatively dressed as gold diggers, swing states, comic book heroes, and Harry Potter characters -the less imaginative stuck with standard masks and angel wings. Count Parkula – the commissioner of Parks & Recreation, Adrian Benepe – sipped from a “Conservancy Cauldron” (consisting of an appropriately scary combination of vodka, Grand Marnier, lychee, fresh ginger, green apple, and lime).The president of the Central Park Conservancy, Douglas Blonsky, arrived in the guise of the Great Lawn. But rather than fertilizer, Mr. Blonsky feasted on an entree of beef filet and braised short rib.
The event’s chairmen and chairwomen raised $750,000 for the park. Dubbed the “Council of the Moonlight,” the fun fund-raising group included the “transcendent ones”: Suzanne and Bob Cochran, Sigourney Weaver and Jim Simpson, and Judy and John Angelo. Their younger counterparts, the “junior comets,” included Olivia Chantecaille and Susan Shin.
At least a few guests stumbled during the costume parade – and one even plopped to the ground after collecting a prize for best costume.
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Journalist Uri Dan beamed Wednesday night as he welcomed guests to an exhibit of his photographs of the Yom Kippur War on the third floor of the Museum of Jewish Heritage. But his eyes widened when he saw a soldier he had captured on film, Jacob Katz. His portrait had pride of place in the exhibit. Mr. Dan was present when Mr. Katz’s commanding officer, Ariel Sharon, ordered a helicopter to evacuate Mr. Katz, who had been mortally wounded.
“He was considered dead,” Mr. Dan said before embracing Mr. Katz. Together they turned to gaze at the photograph.
Guests included Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert, who funded the exhibit; museum trustees Judah Gribetz, Rita Lerner, and Ann Oster; Seymour Karpas, who found photographs of himself and his brother in the neighboring exhibit about American Jews who fought in World War II; and June Paler, whose father, Duncan Robinson, gave a naming gift to a gallery at the museum.
The museum’s director, David Marwell, noted that the gallery housing Mr. Dan’s photographs has yet to be named.
