Lee Schrager is one busy dude. Besides producing South Beach Wine & Food Festival and its 75-plus events, the VP of corporate communication for Southern Wine & Spirits is also a trustee the Perez Art Museum of Miami. Which means he's in charge of conceptualizing and producing its annual gala, the Art of the Party (formerly known as the MAM Ball).
This year's event, taking place Saturday, January 17, and presented by Louis Vuitton, is a night of pure elegance, fun, and giving back to the community. With programming that includes a chef's table going for $25,000, supper club for $1,000, or an after-party at a more reasonable $250 per person, the modern-day ball offers something for everybody.
And speaking of offering something, we're giving away a pair of tickets to the after-party so you can rub shoulders with the movers and shakers of Miami's arts community.
See also: Festival of Chocolate Comes to Miami Auto Museum This Weekend
Schrager is no stranger to fund raising. SOBEWFF has raised millions towards FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality for over a decade now. And the premise here is similar, except its benefits PAMM's art education programs. "PAMM is probably most important art institute in Miami, if not all of South Florida," says Schrager. "It's great if you can come to this wonderful night to get dressed up, but if you can't afford it you can come back 365 days of the year and see all the activities and programming the museum offers."
Schrager has selected world-renowned, fourth-generation chef Thomas Troisgros (son of famous chef Claude Troigros and grandson of the even more famous chef Pierre Troisgros) of Olympe Restaurant in Rio De Janeiro. "His father is a great friend of mine been and has been at festival many times. So naturally, I asked him, but he was taping MasterChef in Brazil." Instead, he offered up his son. "I thought he'd be a great pick."
Troigros will be cooking up a four-course menu for the chef's table portion of the evening, taking place on PAMM's picturesque east terrace at 7 p.m. "When I think of Brazil I think of Troisgros as one of the great chef influences of French flavors."
The chef's dinner, which costs $25,000 or $50,000 for 10 people, sold out almost instantly. Table hosts at the $50,000 level will receive a limited-edition print by Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes whose exhibit was currently on display at PAMM. "There's also some surprise entertainment planned for the chef's table, which will be announced the night of. All I can say if she's one of my favorite performers."
After the dinner comes the after-party supper club dinner lounge at 8:30 p.m. "Although we weren't looking to go to a younger demographic, $1,000 still allows people to experience PAMM." That price gets you into the museum's special exhibition galleries, cocktails all night long, also proffers food from chef Troisgros and some entertainment surprises. A private lounge for 11 of your closest friends is also available for $15,000 and comes complete with your own personalized butler to pour your cocktails all night long.
The after-party, dubbed "remix," kicks off at 10:30 p.m. and will transform the museum's West Portico and Knight Plaza into a dance party and live waterfront concert thanks to Brazilian band Batuke Samba Funk. "It's like being in carnival but in Miami." Here, you'll be able to mingle over cocktails, share desserts, and dance under the stars with the chef's table and supper club attendees. The cost for the remix party is $250.
Tickets for the lounge and remix party are still available via pamm.org and for $125 on Gilt City.
We're giving away our own pair of tickets to the remix after-party right here. All you have to do is tell us why you deserve to be there in a comment below. (Make sure to check back here tomorrow to see if you've won.)
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