One thing is for certain: Discover Marblehead and Marblehead Museum know how to throw a summertime party.
On Saturday night, over 250 people turned out for the speakeasy-themed party at the Lee Mansion Gardens.
Jazz duo the Rubin Brothers played Roaring Twenties tunes as Bubble Bar Boston concocted 1920-themed cocktails and Vinwood Catering served appetizers.
The night transformed into a dance party – with entertainment supplied by the Johnny Ray Band – in the lower garden.
With so many sponsors, money raised from the night’s tickets, raffles and fund-a-need round was nearly pure profit.
The Marblehead Museum recently acquired an adjacent building to the Lee Mansion. This building housed individuals whom the Lee family enslaved, and the museum endeavors to shed light on the building’s history and the people who lived there. This costs money.
“We need to build exhibits. We need to do interpretation because we need to disseminate the story. This is a story that is so important to the story of the enslaved people who worked in Marblehead, who lived in Marblehead who contributed to Marblehead,” Marblehead Museum Executive Director Lauren McCormack told Saturday’s crowd. “And it’s about lifting them up to the same level as Jeremiah Lee and his family so that everybody’s story is told.”
To that end, McCormack said the night’s proceeds would help match a $150,000 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant. The museum has raised $100,000 from the Lynch Foundation, leaving a $50,000 need.
