So much to celebrate, so little time. The program at Asia Society’s 50th-anniversary dinner Thursday included speeches by Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller, and Senator John Rockefeller IV; a live broadcast from the society’s new outpost in Hong Kong, located in that city’s second-oldest colonial structure, and announcements of more than $100 million in projects to expand the society’s global presence and enhance its policy programs.

And did I mention the entertainment? The Ahn Trio, taiko drummer Kenny Endo, a Balinese procession of offering, and a song of celebration performed in Mandarin by ninth-grade students from the College of Staten Island High School for International Studies, taught by the city’s schools chancellor, Joel Klein.

Then there was the food: dim sum, samosas, maki rolls, tuna sashimi, mushroom and edamame salad; coconut sticky rice, and chicken coated with a sesame-ginger crust.

“This is the most important evening we’ve had,” the chairman of the society, Richard Holbrooke, told more than 1,200 guests at the Waldorf-Astoria, many of whom had traveled from afar.

By important, he meant serious, yet there was some room for levity during the proceedings.

“My father has studied and nearly mastered the Chinese and Japanese languages,” Charles Rockefeller, the son of the senator, and grandson of the society’s founder, John D. Rockefeller III, said.

Yet he knew of a “very low point” in his father’s experiences of Asia, which he discovered in a photograph in which his father, in his early 20s, was engaged in combat with a sumo wrestler.

“I tried to think of a flattering way to describe the picture. All I could come up with is that this was a creative way to integrate himself into the culture,” Mr. Rockefeller said.

Much has changed since John D. Rockefeller III founded the society in 1956 to build American relations with Asian countries. At the time, for most Americans, Asia represented disease and poverty.

“Asia looked like Africa looks today, and many economists thought growth would be in Africa,” Mr. Holbrooke said.

History proved different. Asian nations became global economic powers. The Asia Society’s cultural and policy programs, including the Williamsburg Conference, as well as John D. Rockefeller III’s guidance of the Rockefeller Foundation, played a part.

“The Rockefeller legacy for four generations has helped tie America and Asia inextricably together,” Mr. Kissinger said.

John D. Rockefeller III’s brother, David Rockefeller, whose own philanthropy has focused on the Museum of Modern Art, told of how it all began, with his parents’ trips to Asia in the 1920s. “They brought back all these wonderful clothes, and those flat shoes. And they brought back a love of Asia transmitted to all of my family.”

Dessert came after 10 o’clock, when most were making their way to the coat check. Those who stayed were in for a treat: lemongrass and ginger mousse with lychee nut and orange segments, a kumquat confit, and dark chocolate – with mango and passion fruit sauces decorating the plate.

Savoring every last minute were the chairmen of the event, exhausted but glowing after two years of preparation and $4 million raised for the society.

These included Gina Chu (whose husband, designer David Chu, created special ties and scarves for the anniversary), Lisina Hoch, Payal Chaudhri, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Harold Newman, and Washington SyCip.