Travel back in time to a “Bridgerton”-style ball in a first-of-it-kind fundraiser entitled Waltz Upon a Time at the Walt Whitman Birthplace in Huntington Station.
This opportunity to dress like your favorite characters from this popular American romance series and dance the night away on the Enchanted Great Lawn takes place Saturday, Sept. 21, beginning at 5 p.m. on the Birthplace grounds, 246 Old Walt Whitman Road. The $75 ticket price helps with the cost of maintaining this historic site and its programs and thus is a considered a crucial fundraiser to ensure Whitman’s lasting legacy.
“It’s just a really fun day to show off your outfit and be part of something in the Huntington community. There’s not a lot of events like this,” said Caitlyn Shea, executive director of the Walt Whitman Birthplace.
Just like on “Bridgerton” guests are invited to don 19th century garb in the style of the Regency period, which evokes elegance from long gowns with white gloves and tiaras for women to tails, breeches and top hats for men.
“This is going to be an interactive event,” said Rhonda Gooden, CEO, stylist and designer of Chez laa Reine Boutique in Huntington, who has been tapped to help plan the ball. Of the formal attire, she says, “It’s suggested; it’s not a mandatory thing but people are wearing gowns, gloves and tiaras. As far as that era is concerned, it was very classy—you know the petticoats and sequin gowns…”
To relive the magic of ballroom dancing, an outdoor dance hall will be created, and live classical music is expected to feature stringed instruments as well as opera, the press release said. Food will include charcuterie boards, wine, cheese, pinwheels and desserts, Gooden said, while Shea mentioned a tea station. As a lasting reminder of the night, Shea said “people can take their picture against a beautiful background” designed by Gooden.
While this event is a fundraiser, it is also about increasing recognition for this easily overlooked state and national historic site.
“We’re here on Route 110, which is a really busy road. So not a lot of people know we have this sort of sanctuary here tucked away, and we just really want it to be a coming out party for us in a way,” Shea said. “We want people to know we’re here and that we have these beautiful events. We want to get our name out there.”
As part of the evening’s festivities, three supporters of the birthplace will be honored, including former Huntington Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia as well as Suffolk County Legislators Rebecca Sanin and Jason Richberg, according to Shea.
Was there any connection between Whitman and the high society Regency life? Shea said as a newspaper journalist he would have known all classes of society although he himself was not high society.
“It’s something that he would have seen emerging in his lifetime, but he would not have been there for the height of it,” she said.
For more information on the ball, visit the website www.waltwhitman.org/events.