Symphony Ball dazzled — even with blackout

If the lights had not come back on, we would have missed seeing Allison Burchett in this knock-out dress! Oh, that's her hubby, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, with her.

“An Evening in Paris” was the theme last Saturday for the Symphony Ball, an annual gala produced by the Knoxville Symphony League to benefit the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. But as Alan and I drove west on Lyons View Pike toward Cherokee Country Club where the event was being held, the venue could not have looked less like the “City of Light,” as Paris is known.

A car crashing into a utility pole behind Ashe’s Wine and Spirits had plunged the whole neighborhood — including the tony country club — into pitch black darkness. We were somewhat concerned about what the evening might hold. But when we entered the lobby, folks were in a surprisingly good mood, chatting loudly and using cell phones to see where they were going. Perhaps an explanation for the good spirits was the fact that, despite the power outage, the bar never shut down! In about 30 minutes, when the lights suddenly came back on, a huge roar went up from the crowd. Seems the biggest problem had not been the difficulty seeing and bidding on the more than 200 silent auction items beautifully displayed on tables in the River Room, but the fact that the big TV set in the bar — the one showing the SEC championship game between LSU and Georgia — had been rendered out of commission during the outage.

You know how going through a crisis bonds people together? Well this little bump in the road seemed to have had the same effect on the folks in attendance. We all were just a little bit more chummy!

I thought this was an appropriate silent auction item!

As a member of the board of the Knoxville Symphony Society, I just have to say a word of thanks to the Knoxville Symphony League for all their hard work, not only with the ball, but throughout the year. I am a huge fan (and patron) of the lovely and creative Elegant Dining series of events they put on each year. And Moxley Carmichael is happy to provide pro bono public relations services to the Symphony Showhouse, another annual signature fundraiser of the hard working women who are members of the Knoxville Symphony League. Last year, the League contributed more than $200,000 to the Knoxville Symphony’s budget — an amount the Symphony counts on to fulfill its own many community commitments. So thanks so much, League friends. Here is a recap of some of the fun last Saturday after the lights came back on. (Thanks also to the great folks at KUB who acted quickly to reroute the power supply and bring the lights back up.)

There were a lot of Eiffel Towers in the decor.

All the servers wore berets. Cute. This is Alisha Ciuffini. She was pouring for a special tasting and auction of French wines.

Here are Beth Fisher, left, and Deane Conley at the wine tasting, which was held during the silent auction.

Another great silent auction item was a dulcimer signed by Dolly Parton.

We were curious about the football game, so we stuck our heads into the bar they call the Pub where the TV was. We ran into some of our fellow ball-goers doing the same thing!

Pete and Cyndi DeBusk dropping by the Pub to peek at the TV.

Doctors Shirley and Bruce Avery were in the Pub watching the game. They had not been to the Symphony Ball, but rather to the UT basketball game.

OK, back to the ball. Here are Bill Pittman and Tina Rolen waiting to take their seats.

Her dress was a stunner, too!

The centerpieces set the stage.

At every place setting was a little bottle of St. Germain as a party favor.

Note: This St. Germain liqueur is becoming quite the rage. I first tasted it this past summer when my friend Peyton Hairston asked a bartender to add some to his martini. He let me taste it and it had the flavor of flowers. No kidding. But the way I really liked it best was added to a glass of champagne. I tasted it like that during a sampling at Downtown Wine + Spirits a few weeks ago.

Jeff Chapman, left, and Nathan Hunter as they were making their way to their tables.

Symphony League members Rose Moseley, left, and Harriet Hodge.

KSO Maestro Lucas Richman and his wife, Debbie, who is an accomplished singer and musician.

Rachel Ford, the executive director of the Knoxville Symphony, with husband, Terry.

Knoxville Mayor Dan Brown and his wife, Cathy.

Actor David Keith and his wife, Nancy.

Members of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra provided dinner music.

Soloist Aubrey Baker showed off a beautiful voice.

One thing you never have to worry about at Cherokee Country Club is the quality of the food. Executive Chef David Pinckney is among the best in town. Here’s a look at dinner.

Salad was mixed greens with duck confit and quail eggs, gruyere cheese, toasted pecans and grape tomatoes with dijon Champagne vinaigrette. It could have been a meal in itself, really.

The fabulous entree was hickory grilled filet with truffled porcini sauce, Dauphenoise potatoes with leeks and Swiss cheese, oven roasted sole with parsley lemon brown butter sauce with fried capers, asparagus with lemon butter and purple cabbage.

The French dessert was profiteroles, of course, with vanilla ice cream and raspberry and chocolate sauces. Yum!

Symphony League members Willene Chalmers and Evelyn Miller

Jon and Toni Lawler. He is president of the Knoxville Symphony Society.

Tim and Amy Williams. Tim is past president of the Symphony Society.

Another past president, Mark Mamantov, and his wife, Cathy.

Danny Pressley, who is on the board of the Symphony Society, with his wife, Allison.

Bear Stephenson conducted the live auction.

Robin Wilhoit, left, of WBIR was the emcee for the evening. She's seen here with Angela Pugh, the president of the Knoxville Symphony League.

I ran into the beautiful retired judge Gail Jarvis in the ladies' lounge. I got chills when she reminded me that she once ran against former Judge Richard Baumgartner. History would have been a lot different had she beaten him.

Meanwhile, back in the ballroom, the local dance band The Max had cranked up.

Karen and Harvey White were among those taking advantage of the music.

State Senator Becky Duncan Massey, left, and her daughter, Courtney, worked the check-out table.