Lounge Appeal Furniture at The Bunny Ball
On March 28th Lounge Appeal sponsored The Bunny Ball with custom furniture and style!
From the creators of The Teddy Ball came the newest black tie charity event supporting kids in local hospitals: The Bunny Ball.
While The Bunny Ball is brand new, it’s sister event, the Teddy Ball, was born in 2013. The first Teddy Ball raised 689 teddy bears and $7100 in cash was donated to Rady Children’s Hospital.
According to the organizers, Cruise 4 Kids (C4K), The Bunny ball is meant to “bring together San Diego’s finest to create a collection of new stuffed Bunnies to donate to sick and needy children.”
Nino Venturella, CEO/President of C4K and originator of both events, says that The Bunny Ball idea came to him by demand of the guests of The Teddy Ball, who suggested the event be twice per year.
“The Teddy Ball was more of a Christmas themed event, [so] the idea of having bunnies for a spring themed event seemed like the natural choice,” says Nino.
“Cruise 4 Kids” is its own 501c3 non-profit organization. They have been organizing fun and interesting charity events since 2011, starting with a sports car rally. Each event they produce benefits a different foundation in an effort to spread brand awareness and education.
Nino says, “The format of our events [was] inspired by a gentleman named Tom Groff. Tom has been producing themed parties for the last 15 years with a group of hosts, each event having a charitable beneficiary. I had been attending his great events for 7 years before I began having my own ideas. I took his host structure and added my own twist, hence creating both The Teddy and Bunny Ball.”
The first annual Bunny Ball featured two speakers, Michelangelo Venturella and Nino Venturella. Michelangelo acted as MC of the event while Nino spoke on behalf of Cruise 4 Kids.
Lounge Appeal Furniture at The Bunny Ball
Beginning at 7:30pm, guests arrived to see an array of exotic cars parked in front as they pulled up. Guests were required to present both a Golden Ticket (like Willy Wonka) and a new stuffed bunny upon entry.
After entering, live music from Barry Cohen “The Cocktail Crooner” charmed the group as they walked the Green Grass Carpet (instead of Red Carpet) and took photos in front of the photo wall with their stuffed bunnies.
A walk through the Mediterranean Ballroom then proceeded and guests were able to view the silent auction and raffle areas where they could find all sorts of high end memorabilia collected and donated by sponsors and guests.
The donated Bunnies were placed at the Bunny Wall in the International Ballroom, creating San Diego’s largest collection of bunnies where guests could fall in and take fun photos.
8 photographers took photos of guests at staged areas in the foyer and ballrooms with fun stage performers like bunny mascots, little people dressed like rabbits with oversized carrots, oversized Easter basket with huge eggs, candy bar, an interactive TapSnap platform and more.
VIP guests enjoyed tray passed appetizers and samplings of U4rik Tequila, St Petersburg Vodka, and Magnifico Giornata Sparkling Wine. There were also 10 VIP tables on an elevated platform with bottle service for those desiring a true VIP experience.
After the speakers finished and auctions closed, guests were invited to enjoy a night-club-like party with high-energy music and dancing.
The result? A vibrant and exciting cocktail party with the best pay off – helping others. The Bunny Ball was a perfect fit for Lounge Appeal, a local San Diego luxury party furniture rental company committed to its community.
Moneys from the event are being donated to support foundations through benefactors such as Rady Children’s Hospital. Their goal was to raise $10,000 in total.
Check back with us in the coming weeks to find out the total raised from The Bunny Ball!
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Happy Event Planning, and LOUNGE ON!
