Myrtle Beach Art Museum to party like it's 1920 with a Gatsby-Themed Fundraiser

Flickr User: Victoria_Hume

press release

The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum will host the final event of its 15th Anniversary Year celebration on Saturday, January 12, 2013, from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. at historic Pine Lakes Country Club.

The 1920s-themed event, called The Great Gatsby Affair, will transport attendees back to the Jazz Age of flappers and speakeasies. It will feature heavy hors d'oeuvres, music, martinis, cigars and dancing.

The event is open to the public, but attendance is by invitation only and limited to 350 guests.Invitations can be requested by calling 238-2510. Single tickets are $150. A special "patron ticket" is available for $250, and entitles the ticket-holder to attendance at the event, plus a 6 p.m. private champagne "Gatsby Gathering" and recognition in the event program.

This unique fundraiser will conclude the Art Museum's celebration of I Heart Art, a year-long series of events designed to bring in new friends and funds for the museum.

The Gatsby theme for this final fundraising event was chosen because of the museum's historical ties to the 1920's. It is housed in a former beach cottage that was built in 1924. 

"We've had a series of fun and unique events during this past year, so we wanted to end on a high note," said Lineta Pritchard, chairman of the event. "Guests will feel like they've stepped back in time at a party with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda and their intimate circle of friends. Our Great Gatsby committee is creating an evening we believe people will be talking about for a long time. 

Pine Lakes Country Club, completed in 1927 as the first golf course in Myrtle Beach, will provide an authentic 1920's feel for the event. Each room of the clubhouse will be transformed into a different Jazz Age nightclub. Attendees will be able to wander through the Crescent Club, Prohibition Parlor, Prince Albert Cigar Bar and other clubs - all of which will feature jazz, ragtime, vaudeville and other 20's-style music by U N | Elegant Jazz. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn the Charleston and other dances, enjoy a stogie at the cigar bar, or indulge in a speciality drink such as a Bathtub Gin or a Mobster Martini.

Myrtle Beach Entertainment & Productions will provide professional singers and dancers in 20's costumes, a barbershop quartet, Charleston dancers and cabaret singers. Vintage cars will be parked around the circle at the entrance to Pine Lakes and admittance will be by password only (passwords will be provided to attendees when their reservations are confirmed). Guests are encouraged - but not required - to dress the part (such as flapper, gangster, Cotton Club jazz musician, silent movie character, Apollo entertainer, etc.).

Five "Art-Themed Weekend" travel packages to New York City, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Charleston will be available through silent auction, and will include lodging, some meals and VIP tours of museums and galleries. The Charleston package will feature a special visit with artist Jonathan Green, and the New York City package will feature special visits with artists Sigmund Abeles and Brian Rutenberg.