If you were not at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in your denim on March 28th for the 7th Annual Blue Jeans Ball – you missed a tasty event! The ball was in a new location this year and I think it worked in our favor! The guests seemed to enjoy the savory dishes, stand out cake designs and creatively packaged auction items. The theme that carried through the evening was our 30th Anniversary. This was definitely a special night for the food bank!
Savory smells filled the room from top restaurants like Central Michel Richard, PS 7s, Eatonville and Ris. The favorites of the night were definitely the lamb chops from Goodstone Inn, burgers from the Marriott Wardman Park and cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake. A long time supporter and donor of the food bank, The Best Cookie also had great time as guests flocked to her table to sample her delicious cookies! We had a little something for everyone. The talk of the night was also the “Parade of Cakes” challenge, which was a museum like display of unique dessert designs from chefs like Michel Richard, Josh Short from Buzz Bakery and Heather Mackey from the Marriott. All the cakes were great, but there could only be one winner. Barton Farnsworth from Cake FX, who created a “Most Wanted” cake design which was inspired by the food bank’s Most Wanted Items list, took home the honors.
Other highlights of the evening were the “30 baskets for 30 years” displayed during the Silent Auction, which were created in honor of our 30th Anniversary. BJ Jennings, professional auctioneer, also brought a lively touch to the event exciting guests to bid, bid and bid some more! We raised over $50,000 on the Silent and Live auction!
This year’s Blue Jeans Ball was definitely our most successful event – breaking records with an income of $217,000. Guests came in their favorite jeans, sampled delicious foods while supporting the Capital Area Food Bank. It was a memorable night for sure!