2015 Lafayette Soiree
Media Kit
The Lafayette Soiree | Fast Facts March 28, 2015 路 6:30 pm George Moss Stoney House (c1823) 500 Port Republic St. 路 Old Point, Beaufort, South Carolina Tickets $125 per person (tax deductible) HistoricBeaufort.org/shop or 843.379.3331 Ongoing details 禄 Facebook.com/TheSoireeHBF 0
Historic Beaufort Foundation Historic Beaufort Foundation (HBF) is now in its 50th year supporting the preservation, protection, and presentation of sites and artifacts of historic, architectural, and cultural interest throughout Beaufort County, South Carolina. HBF is a Local Partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Historicbeaufort.org
Press Contact Erika Conefry 禄 201.906.3743 (m) or econefry@gmail.com
Media Invitation Please join us‌ Media outlets are encouraged to explore the history around this enduring annual event honoring the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to Beaufort, South Carolina (and this particular historic home) through advance interviews with Historic Beaufort leadership, the homeowners, or the event committee. Media is invited to be our guest at the event with intentions of post event coverage. Two people per outlet; three with a video camera. Arrange attendance through event press contact, Erika Conefry.
Past Events
Press Release Historic Beaufort Foundation’s Lafayette Soiree Reprising the Lowcountry’s Best Garden Party Feb. 20, 2105 - Beaufort , South Carolina – On March 28, at 6:30 pm, the grounds of Scott Sonoc and Marsha Williams’ historic George Moss Stoney House (c. 1823), in Old Point, will become a lively cocktail and fireworks fete to celebrate the Marquis de Lafayette’s 1825 famed visit to Beaufort. Themed “Sailing into Spring”, the Historic Beaufort Foundation’s 45th annual Lafayette Soiree is planned to be a nautically elegant event that features the homeowner’s formal French garden and riverside setting.
Guests will enjoy Southern regional fare and drinks from downtown Beaufort restaurants and noteworthy regional sponsors like Beaufort Bread Company, Boundary Street Café, Breakwater Restaurant and Bar, Lady’s Island Oysters, Sea Eagle Market, Saltus River Grill, Southern Spice Catering, Spring Island Club, Sweetgrass Restaurant and Bar at Dataw, and Maker’s Mark. The silent auction features uncommon regional, national, and global opportunities not to be missed. The party concludes with Atlanta’s renowned CEO Show Band. 2015 Lafayette Soiree Chair, Melanie McCaffree, is supported by co-chairs Laura Dukes, Lanier Laney, and Terry Sweeny.
Historic Beaufort Foundation celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The organization has been instrumental in not only restoring (hands-on and financially) scores of historic buildings, but also spearheading National Park Service designation for 300 acres of Beaufort’s downtown and registering 500 sites in a National Historic Landmark District. It’s thanks to the Historic Beaufort Foundation that Beaufort retains three centuries of historic architecture today. Tickets, $125 per person, are available by calling the Foundation at 843-379-3331 or via the website at historicbeaufort.org. Funds raised by the event support the Foundation’s mission.
For ongoing information, consult the Soiree’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheSoireeHBF or contact Lanier Laney Conefry at lanierlaney@gmail.com. For details on the home’s historical significance, or Lafayette’s famed visit to Beaufort, contact Maxine Lutz, Executive Director, Historic Beaufort Foundation.
Past Events
Lafayette, Beaufort, & The Soiree The Lafayette Soiree is named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette (MarieJoseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette) who visited Beaufort on March 18, 1825, during his triumphal tour of America. He was received by a 13 gun salute and spoke to the citizens of Beaufort from the portico of the Verdier House, located at 801 Bay St. in Beaufort, South Carolina. He then spent the night at a ball held in his honor.
The overall reason for his visit? From July 1824 to September 1825, Lafayette, the last surviving French General of the Revolutionary War, made a tour of the 24 states in the United States. At many stops on this tour he was received by the populace with a hero's welcome—many honors and monuments were presented to commemorate and memorialize his visit.
The Marquis de Lafayette led troops alongside George Washington in the American Revolution over 40 years earlier. He fought in several crucial battles including the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania, and the Siege of Yorktown in Virginia. Since that time the Marquis lived in France and pursued a political career championing the ideals of liberty that the fledgling US republic represented. After the Marquis left the French legislature in 1824, President James Monroe invited him to tour the United States, both to instill the "spirit of 1776" in the next generation of Americans and to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary. Verdier House (c. 1804)
Celebrating with Regional Fare Food & Beverage sponsors bringing the food of the Lowcountry to life. The 2015 Soiree will be a Southern regional taste treat. Picture fresh local oysters, a ham tasting station carving up cured delicacies with biscuits and fixins’, an artisan meat and cheese table, and of course sushi (Lowcountry style). Celebrated local chefs will be onsite preparing their restaurants fan favorites like shrimp and
grits, buttermilk chicken wings, she crab soup, and Lowcountry paella. Does having Maker’s Mark on board as a sponsor mean one of the specialty event cocktails will include their world famous bourbon? Maybe. Come on, we do have to leave you some surprises.
Food & Beverage Sponsors
Please join us‌
Past Events
2013 Lafayette Soiree – Classical trio on the porch at the Lewis Reeves Sams House
2013 Lafayette Soiree – Chef in action at the Lewis Reeves Sams House
2014 Lafayette Soiree – French garden courtyard at the Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House
2014 Lafayette Soiree – 18th century French street market at the Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House
2014 Lafayette Soiree – Street market entertainers at the Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House
2013 Lafayette Soiree – Formal French garden at the Lewis Reeves Sams House
2014 Lafayette Soiree – Smiling guests at this multi generational draw
Special Thanks The Soiree is lucky to have many community supporters. The event, and proceeds to Historic Beaufort Foundation, wouldn’t be possible without them. As Lafayette would say, Nous vous sommes extrêmement reconnaissants. 13 Gun Salute
2015 Lafayette Soiree Committee
Marsha Williams & Scott Sonoc
Melanie McCaffree, Chair Laura Dukes, Lanier Laney & Terry Sweeny, Co-chairs Louise Coleman Erika Conefry Sharon Dwyer Maleia Everidge Irvine Gaskin Maxine Lutz, Executive Director, Historic Beaufort Foundation
Friends of Lafayette Elizabeth Locke & John Staelin Low Country Real Estate
Heyward Sponsors Amazing Event Rentals, LLC Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Trask & Lynn, CPA
Soiree Supporters
Buds & Blooms Landscaping Caswell Investment Group Grayco Hardware Maker’s Mark John & Danielle Troutman, Merrill Lynch Rhett House Inn