“Juleps in June,” the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society’s annual fundraiser, was a night for renovators. Honorary Co-Chairs were Preservationist Andrea Bland and Attorney David Bland. Attorney Joe DeSalvo and Designer and Author Rosemary James, who recently completed re-renovating Faulkner House, are Co-Founders of the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, which presented the event. The Party Committee also included attorney Angela Bowlin and Martin Robinson and Chris Fransen. Many guests have also recently invested in restoring historic homes.
The gala honored Faulkner’s love of good whiskey, and mint juleps were served in silver cups, which are the traditional patrons gifts for the event. Food and flowers were provided by Glenn Vatshell, owner and chef of Palate New Orleans.
Jimmy Lee, an investments broker, and wife Vicky, an artist, were successful bidders on this year’s painting of the society’s namesake, Nobel laureate William Faulkner, who wrote his first novel while living on Pirate’s Alley. The painting, created and donated by Grayce DeNoia Bochak, was auctioned to benefit the society’s literary and literacy projects.
Literary guests of honor included novelists John Gregory Brown, a New Orleans native and author of the new novel, A Thousand Miles from Nowhere, and his wife, Carrie Brown, author of the new novel, The Stargazer’s Sister, as well as Dr. Kim Vaz-Deville, non-fiction author of The “Baby Dolls”: Breaking the Race and Gender Barriers of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Tradition, which is the focus book this year for the literary initiative of One Book One New Orleans. The Faulkner Society is partnering with One Book One New Orleans for their literary initiative and the Society’s 2016 BIG READ, targeting teenagers at risk for illiteracy.
EVENT AT A GLANCE
What: “Juleps in June,” benefiting The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, Inc.
When: Friday, June 3
Where: Residence of Andrea and David Bland
