Party in the Park: Inside the Central Park Conservancy’s Annual Gala 

On a starry Wednesday night, the Rumsey Playfield in Central Park transformed into an emerald wonderland as the Central Park Conservancy hosted its Annual Gala. Sponsored by Harry Winston, the emerald-themed evening was hosted in Manhattan’s iconic green oasis, raising $1.3 million for the crucial maintenance of Central Park. Following last year’s Mod dress code, the night's theme was "A Night in Emerald City"—a wink to The Wizard of Oz.

Over 400 guests—dressed in various takes on “Emerald City,” from gem-colored satin jackets to glittering red ruby slippers—attended the event, set within a cozy tented (and heated!) series of rooms. First, a cocktail hour unfolded in the first room, where a yellow brick road led to a photo call that made for scenic portraits, which was enjoyed by guests like Martha Stewart, Tina Leung, Zachary Weiss, Jeremy A. Batoff, Eric Goldie, and Beverly Nguyen. Event co-chairs included Lauren Seeger & David E. Cohen, Evelyn & David McCabe, Gillian & Sylvester Miniter, and Mo Sakurai & Harry Taylor, and president & CEO of the Central Park Conservancy, Betsy Smith.

Fashion-wise, the guests delivered. Minter wore a mini, pearled Miu Miu dress; Fe Fendi was spectacularly on theme with a Carolina Herrera dress embroidered with emerald stones, and Leung appeared a chic ice queen in a silvery Oscar de la Renta mini with coordinating foil-esque smokey eyes.

Beyond a series of curtains, the dining room awaited. Before dinner was served, the rooms were treated to a performance from Talia Suskauer and Kara Lindsay of Broadway's long-standing hit, WICKED, in honor of its 20th anniversary. But the dinner was just the start of the night. Afterward, an on-site after-party, co-chaired by Zachary Weiss, Ivy Getty, Jeremy A. Batoff, Savannah Engel, Eric Goldie, and Beverly Nguyen, unfolded. There, Central Park Conservancy’s Young Associates joined the gala guests in Central Park. And because after the after-party is the after-after-party, a jolly contingent of the party boarded an old-time trolley and were shuttled down to Pebble Bar for even more celebration.