Friday, May 15, 2009

Tuesday Night at the Tribeca Rooftop

It's almost like a psychological epidemic: The Great Recession is the greatest buzzkill of our generation. We're supposed to lay low, stop eating foie gras and absolutely, positively do not attend charity events that have the word gala in the invitation. So the savvy women of the Business Council for Peace did what all savvy women out to do: They listened to themselves. And threw a humdinger of a fundraiser. Because nothing, not even the Great Recession is going to stop the fine work they're doing on behalf of the entrepreneurial women of Afghanistan and Rwanda.

If you haven't been to the Tribeca Rooftop in New York City, you should beg, borrow or steal an invitation because it's utterly fabulous. The view from the rooftop is heart-stopping and it gave the party the right kind of off-hand elegance that defined the night. Rather than the ho-hum tables of eight and ten, Bpeace went with a grazing format so that you could eat the most delicious hors d'oeuvres all night long. Everything clicked especially the DJ Rolando who kept making deft segues from rock to punk to Motown. The evening's highlight: Five especially curvaceous dancers from Bollywood Funk NYC funking it up to "Jai Ho!" with the crowd mobbing the dance floor to reenact that final (mood-elevating) scene from this year's Oscar winner "Slumdog Millionaire." Yes indeedy, suffering was forced to go on a temporary hiatus.

Despite a torpedoed economy, Bpeace's volunteers outdid themselves and raised nearly $95,000 which will continue the new business development programs that have launched
at least 40 different businesses since the group formed in 2002.