14 • Thursday, April 8, 2021
SOCIAL
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
‘BRIGHT LIGHTS, IRON CITY’
Photos by Dee Moore
The Debutante Club Celebrates 16 Presentees
From left, Margaret Jean Holloway, Hannah Marie Elliott and Sarah Brasfield Cooper. Not pictured: Gunter Moren Crommelin.
Sarah Scott McPherson, Barbara Grace Tortorici, Elizabeth Rose Gillespy and Ruth Evelyne Kirkland.
Ann Chapman Haynes, Mary Walker Poe, Kate McCarroll Bumgarner and Mary Adelaide Vandevelde.
Ansley Caldwell Gross, Ann McQueen Whatley, Frances Elizabeth Hand and Mary Margaret Bromberg Byrne.
T
he Debutante Club of Birmingham honored 16 young ladies at a traditional Black and White Ball on Dec. 29. The 2020 new members of the Debutante Club and their escorts were Kate Bumgarner and John Crockard, Mary Margaret Byrne and Aaron Sanders, Sarah Cooper and Johnny Lavette, Gunter Crommelin and Mabry Crane, Hannah Elliott and Carter Kampakis, Elizabeth Gillespy and Joseph Propes, Ansley Gross and Duncan Morris, Frances Hand and Sam Guilsher, Ann Chapman Haynes and Drew DeHaven, Maggie Holloway and Zachary Carroll, Ruth
Evelyne Kirkland and Graham Harrison, Sarah Scott McPherson and Bradford Turner, Walker Poe and Henry Barze, Gracie Tortorici and Daniel Darwin, Delia Vandevelde and Wilson Golden, and Ann McQueen Whatley and Hays Dubberly. In keeping with a tradition dating back to 1929, the honorees wore white gowns and opera length gloves while their guests wore black tie and black cocktail attire. The event was held at Haven in southside Birmingham. Guests received black and gold invitations featuring Birmingham’s skyline. They were designed by Maggie Holloway, one
of the honorees. The theme of this year’s Debutante Club Ball, “Bright Lights, Iron City,” inspired Robert Logan of Backstage Designs to transform the warehouse venue into a magical and elegant setting of lights, brightly lit stars, elaborate murals and structures created to highlight some treasured features of Birmingham. The honorees and their escorts began their evening at the Mountain Brook Club with cocktails and a dinner party. The group dined on gold sequined tablecloths with white roses and pearls draped on gold candelabras as centerpieces. As they arrived at the party, the entrance was
adorned with lighted trees and stars with a large silver star surrounding the entrance. Noted Birmingham sites and attractions, such as the Alabama Theater, Vulcan, Sloss Furnace and the old Birmingham Magic City railway sign were incorporated into the decorations. A large painted city skyline gave partygoers a backdrop for photos. Creativity, a 10-piece band from Atlanta, kept the crowd dancing until midnight with the sounds of Motown to today’s hits. Guests in attendance at the event included presentee’s parents and friends from near and far. ❖
