Hosting a fundraising concert for 75 people in a private residence sounds like a daunting task but with the help of the experienced Strings in the Mountains staff and the Home on the Range designers, the hostess, Carrie Hayden is pretty relaxed about the whole process.  Kathleen, my design assistant, and I met with Carrie Hayden to go over little additions we need to make in order to have each area of the house looking picture perfect!   We know the house intimately, having worked through every detail of the interior finishes and furnishings with our client, the Haydens, over the past 4 years.  It’s exciting to see it showcased for such a wonderful event.

I will arrive the afternoon of the affair to “fluff the pillows” and to help with the table arrangement and last minute touches.  White tablecloths with yellow napkins will create a simple yet vibrant backdrop for the colorful  arrangements made up of Colorado wild flowers that will grace the tables and enhance the feeling of being in a garden setting.  Marno’s Custom Catering will provide the appetizers and  dinner and One Fine Day will create the flower arrangements for the tables.

One of our biggest concerns is what the weather will do!  The plan is for cocktails to be served on the lower decks followed by a sit-down dinner at tables positioned on the lawn with spectacular views of the Steamboat Springs Ski area and the south valley towards Lake Catamount.   After dinner, the concert will be on the upper terraced stone patios.  If this monsoon weather pattern continues into next week we may be faced with bringing the event indoors and finding creative ways to seat 100 people for both dinner and the concert – not ideal but certainly doable.   We went through the contingency plans today, thinking about what chairs we will need and how to position them so everyone can see and hear the wonderful vocalist, Mark Masri.

If you are in Steamboat Springs that night you should definitely try to attend – it will be a magical night.  If you can’t attend I will let you know how it all goes!  I will be heading to Denver after the concert to be there for a 7:40 a.m. flight the next morning so it will take a few days for me to post my follow up to the evening!  I’ll post some pictures as well so you can see how much fun we had!