Charleston’s high society rocked out with their wallets out at the American Heart Association’s 14th Annual Heart Ball, held in the downtown Marriott’s Crystal Ballroom on Saturday night. The evening began with a cocktail hour and silent auction, where we couldn’t decide between sipping on the red champagne cocktails that were being served or hitting up one of the five open bars strategically placed in the lobby outside of the ballroom. We ultimately opted for the bubbly while admiring the evening’s featured artwork and mingling with the black-tie clad guests.
Patrons were then ushered into the ballroom, which had been transformed into a sea of red, with scarlet lights illuminating the room and LED hula hoop-adorned dancers entertaining the crowd. Guests enjoyed three-course meal featuring Allen Brothers filet mignon and seared Atlantic salmon before heading back to the ballroom for the live auction.
Twenty different wine and art items and packages were up for bid, including a wine-inspired trip to Paris and Burgundy that went for $17,500, as well as a collaborative mixed-media art piece by local favorites Robert Lange, Nathan Durfee, and Michael Moran that drew in $1,750. The highlight of the auction, however, was when the night’s headlining art piece by West Fraser went for $20,000, after the auctioneer asked a patron if she’d raise her bid simply out of the kindness of her heart. Considering the theme of the night, how could she have refused?
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