Pink Hour at Sonesta Philadelphia [Photo: Amaris Pollock]
Philadelphia celebrated Pinktober in style at the Pink Hour event held on October 24th. The event, which was hosted at Art Bar inside of Sonesta Philadelphia was a lot of fun, and some fabulous Philadelphians were in attendance.
As soon as we entered you could see and hear that the atmosphere was designed to be hip and fun. There was a live DJ spinning popular music while guests ate, drank, and viewed 10 unique artworks up for auction that were created by Denise Fike and commissioned by Sonesta Philadelphia.
Denise Fike Illustration [Photo: Amaris Pollock]
In addition to the 10 pieces of art that guests were invited to preview and bid on, there were specialty cocktails and desserts available for purchase from the ART BAR’s Pink Menu. More importantly, the proceeds from the menu and silent auction both benefitted a local non-profit organization called Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC).
The Pink Menu offered 2 specialty desserts, along with 3 different cocktails to select from. So any guest who purchased items from the Pink Menu were able to continue in raising funds for the LBBC through the end of the month through purchasing items from the Pink Menu, which was available until October 31st.
Pink Hour Cocktails [Photo: Amaris Pollock]
My friend and I indulged in two of the specialty cocktails that night; we shared the Pink Rum, which was a sweet and lighter cocktail that contained white rum, cranberry juice, *bitters (which we substituted with Grenadine), and a soda.
The Pink Velvet Martini was heavier in consistency and made with White Godiva Liqueur, vanilla vodka, Grenadine, and Strawberries. It was a creamy libation that tasted like a strawberry dessert in alcoholic form. The two drinks were delicious and oh-so-tempting to ask for another, and I hope that they add them to their regular cocktail menu.
Denise Fike Illustrations at Pink Hour [Photo: Amaris Pollock]
As for the works of art that Sonesta Philadelphia commissioned by artist Denise Fike, they were 10 exclusive fashion figure sketches that went up for public auction on October 25th through October 31st. Each colorful piece was beautiful, and inspired by the Christian Dior exhibit called “Fabulous Fashion: From Dior’s New Look to Now,” currently being held at Philadelphia Museum of Art. The various looks that Denise Fike included were –
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Christian Dior’s 1970 Marc Bohan Collection
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Christian Dior’s 2004 Pret-a-Porter Collection based on Vintage Vogue Covers
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Christian Dior’s Fall 2010 Couture Collection
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Christian Dior’s Fall 1997 Couture Collection
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Christian Dior’s Fall 2005 Couture Collection
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Christian Dior’s 2008 Pret-a-Porter Collection
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Christian Dior’s Spring 2007 Couture Collection
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Christian Dior’s Spring 2011 Couture Collection
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Christian Dior’s Fall 2010 Haute Couture Collection
And to further emphasize her own talents, Denise Fike attended the Pink Hour event while creating complimentary sketches of guests of the event, and what they were wearing. My friend and I both posed for Ms. Fike, and the sketches turned out to be so lovely! It was surprising how quickly she was able to create each individual sketch—simply using a single brush with pink paint, but she created each one within 5 minutes.
Denise Fike at work [Photo: Amaris Pollock]
Between the cocktails and shared experiences from the night, we were elated to have been invited to meet such a talented artist and participate in an opportunity to raise funds for Living Beyond Breast Cancer.
If you are interested in supporting and/or learning more about LBBC, visit https://www.lbbc.org/ for more information.
And if you’re interested in visiting Philadelphia, check out Sonesta Philadelphia for an upscale overnight experience in the heart of “The City of Brotherly Love!”
Amaris Pollock is a freelance writer and photographer covering the local restaurant scene. Email arpollockus@gmail.com for requests.
