Sekolo Fundraiser - Greenwich, CT

November 13, 2010

Dearest Dolls' Fans,

  Heather’s friend, Elizabeth Robinson, goes to Namibia twice a year to educate children about HIV and AIDS. Her charity is called Sekolo and we were asked to perform at their fundraiser and auction. Elizabeth was wearing a traditional African dress that she had made for her in Harlem.  It was absolutely stunning!

  We arrived at the golf club to a roaring fire. The whole place was decorated with the artwork that was being auctioned. It was all created by the local African artists from Namibia that Elizabeth sees on her travels. The room was beautiful but our pictures do not quite do it justice.
 
  We kicked off the event with Begin the Beguine dressed in our formal black gowns. We almost never get to wear these. All three of us delayed the costume change until the very last minute. I love this dress! We sampled the hors d’oeuvres- shrimp cocktail, spring rolls and my all time favorite, butternut squash soup served in a shot glass. Brilliant!

  The auction was well underway. We closed the evening with a small set.  Afterwards, Dr. Ryalls decided he didn’t donate quite enough to the foundation so he bid on us. Literally. For a donation to Sekolo, Dr. Ryalls brought The Manhattan Dolls to an after party.

  We settle into his BMW 7 series and ten minutes later arrive at a beautiful home. Inside the house there are about twenty people from three different generations, two keyboards, two guitars, a stand alone drum set, and an accordion. This family gets together once a year for their “No Requests” jam session. Dr. Ryalls was supposed to play something on the piano but he was too shy so he brought us to sing instead. We sang, they sang we all sang along. They offered us food, wine, and cupcakes and we all had a blast.

  What a beautiful family. This is the kind of party city people always say they want to have and then never get around to planning it. Their home was so warm and full of love that we started asking ourselves, “Who do we have to marry to be a part of this family?”

  The good doctor drove us to the Stamford train station so we could catch the express back to Grand Central and we were all in our beds by 1:00AM. ‘Tis the season for family and charity. What a gift to be a part of that.

Until we sing again,

Annemarie Rosano
Manhattan Doll