Hundreds Turn Out For The Tercentennial Gala

By Shannon Hicks

The timing was good and the weather cooperated last weekend for The Tercentennial Ball, a formal event held at The Fireside Inn to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Newtown. The event was a celebration of three centuries of growth and the promise of the town’s future. It was also the major fundraiser for future tercentennial events.

According to Barbara Kasbarian, one of the event’s co-chairs, a total of 621 tickets had been sold for the evening. She and Janet Woycik, the second co-chair, estimated that there were between 10 to 15 no-shows, putting the evening’s attendance at just over 600 people.

A few dozen guests took the suggestion of planners to dress in Colonial-era attire. All others were dressed formally, and the inn was filled with gaiety and elation as the much-anticipated tercentennial events continue.

January had offered an ecumenical worship service, and then the February 5 gala was the second formal event of a year that will include fireworks, talent shows, contests, and other events for all ages and interests.

The inn’s full ballroom was put to use for Saturday’s event, as was a smaller side room that held another 100 guests. Tables for ten set up across the ballroom, with an area left open for socializing and a champagne fountain set up during the cocktail hours. The ballroom’s stage area was predominantly filled with two long tables covered with the 60-plus raffle items, while one-third of the stage was given over to the band.

Table decorations were very elegant. Black linens were coupled with gorgeous floral arrangements set on a gauzy gold fabric. Simple votive candles were lit, and gold-framed scenes of early Newtown were at the end of each table.

Also in the ballroom, four slide presentations ran during the course of the evening showing black-and-white images of early Newtown.

In addition to the silent auction/raffle that ran from the opening of the event at 6:45 until the end of dinner at 10:30, there was also a live auction of 19 items.

“It’s great that the weather this weekend was so good, because people are ready to start going out again,” an ebullient Bill Brimmer said. “The holidays are over, and we’ve had a few weeks of hibernating. The timing of tonight’s event was perfect.

“The turnout is wonderful, too,” he said. “It’s great to see so many people turn out for something like this.”

Also in attendance was Congresswoman Nancy Johnson, who admitted early that she would not be able to stay for the full event (which was scheduled to run until 1 am), but added she “wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Mrs Woycik and Mrs Kasbarian were both pleased with the evening.

“I’m thrilled, and everyone I’ve talked to has said how wonderful everything was,” Mrs Woycik said this week. “People keep telling me the decorations were beautiful, the band was good, the food was great, and they were happy to see their friends, especially people they hadn’t seen in a while.

“I think we got what we wanted. We wanted people to walk in and say ‘Wow!’ and we saw a lot of that,” she continued.

Mrs Woycik gave credit to Claudia Coopersmith, who spearheaded the decorating, and Mrs Coopersmith’s friend Linda Pickwick, who helped with creating the decorating scheme for the gala. Joanne Kearns, said Mrs Woycik, had organized the pictures that were used in the slide shows.

“All three of them did a great job of transforming The Fireside into a New York City ballroom,” said Mrs Woycik.

Mrs Kasbarian was equally pleased with the evening.

“I’ve had a lot of raves about the décor and the food,” she said. “Even though it was crowded, people felt that that made things much more homier and close. And overall people thoroughly enjoyed themselves.”

One wonderful coincidence on Saturday occurred for Dan Amaral. Mr Amaral was wearing a hat that had been owned by his father, Tony. The hat had been purchased at R.H. Beers & Company, a very successful general store that had been located at Main and West streets during the first quarter of the 20th Century.

When Mr Amaral sat down for dinner and looked at the framed photos that had been set up on his table as part of the evening’s decorations, he was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the photos showed none other than the former general store where his father had purchased his hat.

One of the evening’s first speakers was Brigadier General Bob Schmidle. Mr Schmidle grew up in town, and with strong ties very much in place, he and his wife Pamela had driven up to Newtown from their home in Washington, D.C., just hours earlier. Mr Schmidle offered a short lesson on the story behind Newtown’s town symbol, the rooster (which, coincidentally, became Mr Schmidle’s call sign when he was in flight school).

Trying to get a room of 500 people quiet proved to be quite a challenge for Town Historian Dan Cruson and the Reverend Bob Weiss, the pastor of St Rose of Lima Church. It took a few minutes for the crowd to quiet down, and even as Father Bob began his invocation pockets of chatter continued to erupt.

Rabbi Shaul Praver also persevered through conversation, offering his invocation to the continuing background noise.

“As we go into the future, may we learn from the past. May we build a brighter future,” he offered.

After thanking the two religious leaders, Mr Cruson offered a few more remarks, thanking the two men for their kindness, “which has not always been the norm in Newtown between the religious communities. That kindness is here now, however, and it will be here for the future.”

In his remarks, Mr Cruson also challenged guests to remember what the earliest town leaders faced when they created this town and to celebrate the idea behind self-government.

State Representative Julia Wassermann was also introduced from the stage, but had not planned to make remarks. She seemed to be happy enjoying the event as a longtime resident.

Dinner was a choice of filet mignon, salmon, or chicken, which followed salads and preceded dessert platters of cannolis, cookies, brownies, and the like served to each table.

Third Shift proved to be a very popular choice for the evening’s music. The band started playing earlier than planned, while dinner was still being served in some parts of the ballroom, but no one seemed to mind eating through dance music. Vocalists Nadina Perry and Tony Aiardo even shared some of their stage time with Richard Coopersmith, who took a turn at the mic before stepping onto the main floor to begin the live auction with his friend Bob Tendler.

A Lively Auction

Nineteen lots were offered, ranging from a golf outing for four, plus lunch and the use of carts, at Rock Ridge Country Club. That lot sold for $400, which was also the going price for a day of golf at Ridgewood Country Club, a Joseph Kugliesky family portrait, a children’s party with entertainment by Daisy the Clown, and eight hours of personal training.

The evening’s opening lot, “Big Apple Getaway,” included limo transportation to and from New York City, dinner at Rosa Mexicano, a night at The Hudson Hotel and two theater tickets to a play of the winner’s choice. The lot sold for $1,000.

“Zoom on Zoar!” went for $500 to a very enthusiastic bidder in Colonial costume. The winner and up to seven of his friends or family members will be enjoying a picnic lunch while on a guided tour of Lake Zoar this summer.

Two bottles of Chateau Margaux 1985 Premiere Grand Cru sold for $800, shortly after an 18K yellow gold flexible choker with three white gold X embellishments had been bid to $1,300.

The evening’s top lot honor was a tie. Two lots — the first a day at Lime Rock Park complete with driving lessons and the opportunity to be a passenger in a Rothman Porsche Turbo Cup racecar and the other a full party including DJ service, rentals from Durant’s, and beer and wine from Sandy Hook Wine & Liquor — each sold for $1,500.

Barbara Kasbarian said she was “absolutely” pleased with the results of the live auction.

“It was beyond our expectations,” she said.

In total, the live auction alone raised just over $16,000. Proceeds from the live auction, the raffle and any money left over from ticket sales and sponsorships after covering the costs of the evening will help fund the balance of the tercentennial festivities this year.

The Tercentennial Ball Committee was co-chaired by Barbara Kasbarian and Janet Woycik. Committee members were Sherri Baggett, Anne Clarke, Elizabeth Cluff, Claudia Coopersmith, Carol Garbarino, Kathy Geckle, Joe Golden, Joanne Keane, Roxanne Main, Terri-Ann Martocci, Mary Ann Murtha, Deb Osborne, Linda Pickwick, Paula Stephan, Marg Studley, Father Robert Weiss, and Susan White.

The Tercentennial Ball Fundraising Committee was William Brimmer, Alan Clavette, JoAnn Dempsky, Kathy Geckle, John and Terri-Ann Martocci, Mary Ann Murtha, Glenn Nanavaty, Barbara Phillips, and Jim Setz.