On Saturday, November 17th, The Vizcayans hosted their 51st Annual Legendary Ball at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. More than 500 guests enjoyed the magical evening sponsored by The House of Harry Winston that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the benefit of Vizcaya. Guests were greeted at the entry piazza with a champagne toast. Then they descended the approach allee to the sound of the cascading fountains and jazz musicians. At the front door of the entrance loggia, The Vizcayans’ President Norma Quintero, Ball Co-Chairs Ana Moran-Varela and William Meyersohn, and Vizcaya’s Executive Director Dr. Joel Hoffman greeted guests and called their attention to the recent successful effort to preserve a group of sculptures found there, consisting of a 1st century statue of, Bacchus, the Roman deity of wine, a 2nd century marble tub and playful 17th century putti.

Guests were then channeled through the entrance hall, the Deering library, the reception room, and great hall to cocktails, provided by Republic National Distributing Co. and Roberto Cavalli Vodka. A spectacular silent auction awaited guests in the east loggia, inner courtyard and tea room. Pistils & Petals decorated for the evening’s event. Outside the beautifully-restored Venetian glass doors guests enjoyed the balmy South Florida night with near-perfect temperature. They were then invited to dinner on the east terrace overlooking Biscayne Bay and Vizcaya’s masterpiece barge. Expertly-applied architectural lighting showed the exquisite detail of both the house and barge. Thierry’s Catering prepared and served dinner.

The evening’s Philanthropic Chair was Edie Laquer, Miami’s grande dame of real estate and generous donor to many of South Florida’s worthy charities. As a surprise Vizcayans’ President Norma Quintero called Edie to the microphone with a warm birthday wish and dedicated the evening’s magnificent fireworks display to her in honor of her birthday arrival at midnight. Edie expressed her gratitude to her parents, the Miami community and The Vizcayans for their vigilant support of Vizcaya over the last 50 years.

The evening’s Corporate Sponsor was The House of Harry Winston, one of the world’s most prestigious jewelry empires. To continue its legacy of corporate philanthropy The House of Harry Winston has launched its Portraits of Philanthropy initiative, naming charities in three cities, New York, Dallas and Miami, as initial recipients of their generous corporate support for galas for worthy charitable causes. Harry Winston debuted the Diamond de Niege Collection honoring The Vizcayans in Miami. Federica Boido, Marketing Director for The House of Harry Winston, said, “Supporting The Vizcayans and President Norma Quintero in their passion for Vizcaya has been a real treat for Harry Winston and the perfect occasion for the introduction of our collection. We are most grateful to Norma Quintero, Ana Varela-Moran and Bill Meyersohn for their wonderful hospitality during our time at Vizcaya. We look forward to future work together.”

To top off the night, The House of Harry Winston announced that it would donate 10 percent of all proceeds from Diamond de Neige jewelry purchased by friends of the 2007 Vizcayans Legendary Ball through January 31, 2008. The Diamond de Niege collection may be seen at the Harry Winston shop at the Bal Harbour Shops or at www.harrywinston.com.

Other notable supporters included BNY Mellon Wealth Management, SunTrust Bank, Van Cleef & Arpels, Avatar Real Estate Services, Countrywide Home Loans, ExxonMobil Inter-America, Inc., Merrill Lynch, BankUnited, Perry and Beatriz Gregoriou, Katz Barron Squitero Faust, Steinway Piano Gallery Miami, Wedding Click, Neiman Marcus Coral Gables, Chanel, Luis Felipe Perez Jewelry, Oscar de la Renta, Tiffany & Co., and Valentino.

Next year’s 52nd Annual Vizcayan Ball will be on Saturday, November 22, 2008. For more information about The Vizcayans, please see www.vizcayans.org or call 305-856-4866.