The Foshay Soiree: A Roaring Success!
The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota would like to thank all those who made our second annual “sneak peek” fundraiser, “The Foshay Soiree: A Roaring 20’s Restoration,” such a wild success. This event celebrated the restoration of Minnesota’s beloved Foshay Tower, which reopened on August 13, 2008, as the W Minneapolis - The Foshay hotel. Our Friday, August 22, 2008, event drew a crowd of over 360 people to the newly-restored Foshay Tower, now adaptively reused as the W Minneapolis - The Foshay. Such a response makes this one of the most successful events the Alliance has ever held.
Were you on the inside? Foshay Soiree attendees toured, savored, danced, and bid all for a great cause. This event provided support for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota’s operations in advancing historic preservation across the state of Minnesota. Thanks to your support, the Alliance estimates that this event generated close to $20,000 to support our mission-driven services.
The event had a Roaring 20’s theme honoring the Foshay Tower’s 1929 opening with many guests dressing in period and formal attire. A special pre-event VIP Reception, sponsored by Schuler Shook, drew over 50 Foshay project participants, local and state elected officials, and Alliance donors to kick off the event. Attendees went behind the scenes with special VIP tours led by historic consultants Hess, Roise and Company. They devoured signature hors d’oeuvres to the sounds of Robert Bell’s Hot Swing Combo featuring Maude Hixson. Everyone was a star on the dance floor after taking lessons from The Swing Cats. Guests were able to bid on over 50 auction lots with donations from dinners to archaeological digs.
We have many people to thank for making the Foshay Soiree so successful. The Alliance would like to recognize the support of our event sponsors, the W Minneapolis - The Foshay, Ralph Burnet, our many silent auction item donors, the Swing Cats, our volunteers and Foshay Soiree Event Committee members. Thank you all for your many contributions to this event.
Thanks also to Mpls + St. Paul Magzine for their photo coverage of our event. Please watch for publication of these photos in an upcoming fall issue.
This year’s event was modeled on the Alliance’s successful 2007 event at the Westin Hotel. Called “Banking on Preservation,” last year’s sneak-peek fundraiser was the first event held inside the restored Farmers & Mechanics Bank Building in Minneapolis, now the Westin Hotel. Alliance members and friends loved this event so much, they asked for another-what better place than Minneapolis’ fabulous and famous Foshay Tower?
Our event attendees are now asking the same question, “Where will the sneak peek be next year?” The best way to find that out is to become a member of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota. Members receive advanced notice of all of our events via e-mail and print. You can join online using Paypal here on our website by clicking on the “Get Involved” tab and then the “Join” feature.
The Foshay Soiree: A Roaring 1920’s Restoration was graciously sponsored by:
We also would like to recognize the generous support of Schuler Shook, our VIP Reception Sponsor.
Generous in-kind support for this event was provided by:
