tatiana platt

RSVIP: Anthony Shriver Hosts Best Buddies Gala at Ashgrove Farm

Filed under: Events

A meaningful cause can turn an elegant evening into a transformative event. Co-host Anthony Shriver's charisma, Kennedy-family good looks, and passion for Best Buddies, an organization that encourages friendships with mentally and physically challenged individuals, as well as career training and job placement, turned the organization's third annual Hamptons gala into a kind of upbeat epiphany for guests.

Leafy bamboo in pots swayed in the breezy tents that housed the Southeast Asian-themed Best Buddies Gala at Ashgrove Farm in Watermill on Saturday, August 21. During cocktails, tables packed with silent-auction items also beckoned: tickets to watch the New York Rangers, to catch the "Addams Family" on Broadway, or see Jimmy Buffett in concert. Travel items included a round-trip flight to and from the Hamptons and brightly colored luggage so plentiful, the woman who won it wondered if it would fit into her car.

The famed Robbins Wolfe "eventeurs," caterers in common parlance, served up Masala crab cakes with pomegranate chutney, toasted coconut kahuku shrimp, and Portabello tempura. Yum. Filigreed metal lanterns with votive candles lined the covered walk to the dinner tent, where eight stems of purple orchids in jade bowls were surrounded by shimmering gold chargers on every table.

Anthony Shriver admitted that it wouldn't have been so easy to get his little daughter Carolina to fly down from Hyannis Port with him to Long Island for the Best Buddies Gala except that "Anne [Hearst McInerney, above right] gave her a little baby rabbit the last time we came." He then kidded that Hearst McInerney would provide chickens in the gift bags.

Tags: anne hearst, anthony shriver, best buddies, campion platt, Eunice Shriver, EuniceKennedyShriver, hamptons, jay mcinerney, rsvip, tatiana platt