Celebrating 50 Years of the Lee-Fendall House Museum and Garden with Jazz Under the Stars
It was a perfect evening this past Saturday, October 19, when the Lee-Fendall House hosted a FUNraising fundraiser and friendraising party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic home’s founding as one of Alexandria’s most cherished public spaces. Almost everyone
knows someone who has been married in the intimate formal garden where fans of the18th-century Fendall homestead danced the night away on Saturday.
The evening’s entertainment was provided again this year by Accidental Red, a flapper-happy and jazzmatazz band that performed in years past when the theme was a Roaring Twenties speakeasy, a nod to the home’s bootlegging legacy. Jazz Under the Stars was spearheaded by Board President Ed Horn with help from his wife Missy and the tireless talents of Event Chair Ceilie Holmes, along with party planners extraordinaire Linda Farmer and Rosanne Karaffa.
The silent auction action was as competitive as ever with donations from popular local small businesses such as Reunions and Rocket Fizz drawing ever higher bids.
Executive Director Sean Eyer and Collections and Programming Manager Jenny Waters were on hand providing additional support, serving up signature cocktails and taking photos of the special moments throughout the evening’s happenings.
Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and her husband Blaine Jackson attended the event, as they both have faithfully attended the annual Sips and Secrets soirées of years past. This year veteran flapper Jane Stevens outbid almost every competitor, including silent auction savant Ceilie Holmes and Vice Mayor Jackson, who is known for her generous support of Alexandria’s charitable and non-profit organizations.
If you missed this fall’s FUNdraising 50th anniversary party be sure to check the museum website for all the exciting upcoming events and specialty tours offered throughout the year. And if you haven’t visited the Lee-Fendall House in a while you’ll be delightfully surprised to
see this grand lady has had a facelift, sporting new shutters and a recent repainting which approximates the oldest well-documented color scheme of the home that has borne witness to over two centuries of Alexandria history.
