The Sands Point Preserve Conservancy continued to hold the bar high with this year’s theme for its annual Halloween Ball – Vampyres’ Lair. The immersive and interactive theatrical experience entertained and engaged the sell-out crowd with special “guests” that included Dracula and Marie Antoinette.
The evening began with a “Nightmare Hour for VIP Victims” featuring a menagerie of “terrifying” live creatures courtesy of conservancy regular Ranger Eric Powers and the Locust Valley-based Volunteers for Wildlife. During the VIP hour, conservancy managing director Beth Horn welcomed the guests, including Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso before introducing the evening’s “extraordinarily creative and talented” honorees, Port Washington residents Amanda Khalil and Flora and Adam Hanft, who were being recognized not only for all of the work that they do on behalf of the larger community but for their “commitment, support, and the many innovative ideas that they so generously bring to the Sands Point Preserve.”
The VIP hour was followed by a cocktail hour – signature cocktail: Vampyre’s Kiss – and buffet dinner of “atrocities” suitable for both meat-eaters and vegetarians. Dinner entertainment was an aerial/silks performance courtesy of the NYC-based Cirque du Nuit. DJ Sal provided music throughout the evening.
The Halloween Ball, part of a series of themed events that include the spring Butterfly Ball and summer White Party, is the conservancy’s most important fundraising event of the year. The proceeds support the overall mission of the preserve as well as ongoing maintenance and operation of the preserve. The preserve continues to offer an ever-widening and expanding selection of educational, cultural, horticultural, and wellness programming as it continues to serve a growing community. Horn, addressing the conservancy’s mission and goals, says that “The Halloween Ball grows every year – in the number of attendees, the funds raised to support the Conservancy’s mission, and the geographic distribution of our supporters. We are very grateful that our base of support continues to expand as we develop new ways to use this great historic estate for the benefit of the community – we work to maintain and improve this property so that we can create meaningful programs and useful services for the public.”
Conservation and restoration initiatives of the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy along with STEAM-based (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) programming are a large part of its mission as it continues to foster a love and knowledge of wildlife and the environment for children and adults in the surrounding communities and beyond.
Upcoming conservancy events include Agatha Christie’s murder mystery “Towards Zero” and the Winter Solstice Preservers’ Dinner. For information about these conservancy events and others, visit the web-site at www.sandspointpreserveconservancy.org.
