Saturday evening in Delancey became the setting for an extraordinary gathering as hundreds of guests filled the gardens of Andes Hotel owner Derek Curl for the second annual Front Porch Charity Benefit, an elegant summer dinner party that raised $16,000 for programs benefiting students at Andes Central School.

     With the threat of August showers lingering earlier in the day, the skies ultimately cooperated, opening the way for an evening that seemed almost designed for its surroundings. Guests arrived among gardens, old stone walls and weathered barns as live music welcomed them onto the property.

      The warm sounds of strings greeted guests in Curl’s front garden, establishing an intimate atmosphere before the celebration gradually expanded throughout the grounds. Long wooden tables were covered with an abundant feast of salads, vegetables, fruit and other dishes decorated with fresh flowers. Later in the evening, the Catskills Old-Time Music group performed on the patio as guests continued to gather throughout the gardens.

     The evening was Curl’s personal garden party, with admission donations directed this year to the Front Porch Fund and its work enriching the lives of children and the greater Andes community.

     This year’s benefit raised $16,000, which Curl said will be directed to Andes Central School’s music and acting programs for a new sound system.

     For Curl, however, the evening appeared to be about considerably more than reaching a fundraising goal.

     “To witness a hamlet join together to feast on the abundance of beauty, kindness and love on a late summer’s eve, it doesn’t get better than this,” Curl said.

     That sense of community could be seen throughout the evening. Guests wandered between gardens and gathering spaces, shared dinner along the expansive tables and listened to musicians performing beneath the trees. Children and adults mingled together while even the property’s resident geese appeared curious about the commotion.

      As daylight faded behind the surrounding Catskill Mountains, the gardens took on another character. Strings of lights illuminated the grounds while the sunset briefly painted the clouds in shades of pink and orange above the gathering.

      Curl expressed gratitude to Heather Kerr, Maurizio Chiovaro, Lisa Wisely, Charlie McIntosh and crew, and DJ Tito L Endaya for helping bring the evening together.

     The event also reflected something that has become increasingly characteristic of Curl’s involvement in Andes. Community gatherings surrounding the Andes Hotel frequently extend beyond hospitality and entertainment into fundraising and support for local organizations, families and children. With the Front Porch Charity Benefit, Curl brought that philosophy home, quite literally, by opening his own gardens for the evening.

      As dinner gave way to night, the formal elegance of the garden party loosened considerably. Music shifted from the acoustic sounds that accompanied the earlier portions of the evening toward a celebration that ultimately ended on the dance floor.

“The dance party to conclude the night was most epic,” Curl said.

   For a few hours on a late summer evening, the fundraiser managed to be several things simultaneously: a garden party, community dinner, concert and celebration. Yet beneath the flowers, music and remarkable spread of food was a straightforward purpose. A community gathered together, enjoyed one another’s company and raised $16,000 that will ultimately find its way back to the children of Andes. 

August In Bloom Soirée Poem

By Nicholas Adamski

Come find me darling, among the flowers in the garden, beneath the fruit trees, where butterflies float and honeybees work these bright hours to the bone.

Summer sits so tall in August, this season is a throne and the kingdom of heaven is so close in these summer mountains that some of us, the lucky folks, even call it home. 

Goldenrod, Lavender, Astor and Rose, we make crowns of these soft petals, wrap these bright days up with bows. Take my hand and hold this wonder, walk with me among the rows of sweet corn and Delicata.

Candlelight in the apple trees, constellations of monarchs, swallow tales of light. The hydrangeas are so luminous  here, they even shine at night. 

We dance in summer showers and sing for holy rain to paint the purple petals and soak the roots of our collected pain. 

When we fill our cups with kindness, our hearts overflow, though they are torn. 

With love this family tends these gardens and in the generosity of their beauty we believe, and are reborn.