Lamps flickered like desert constellations under the Wickapogue Road tents as the East End dressed for purpose. The Southampton Hospital Foundation’s 67th Summer Party did not merely glitter; it delivered—nearly 400 guests, one flawless August night, and a result that speaks louder than any sequins: more than $1.6 million raised for Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and the newly opened Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department. “The energy, the generosity, the shared sense of purpose,” as Summer Party Chair Sarah Wetenhall put it, felt like a community taking its own pulse and finding a powerful heartbeat.
The longest-running benefit in the Hamptons reimagined itself as A Night in Marrakesh, a Moroccan dreamscape conjured by DeJuan Stroud. Jewel-toned florals, lantern-lit canopies, and a saffron glow set the stage for a gala that fused elegance with efficacy. Guests stepped from summer twilight into a transportive oasis that whispered, stay—there is good work to do.
Cocktail hour opened at a lively clip. Specialty drinks circled—most memorably The Macklowe’s signature Gold Fashioned—while American Idol alum Christiaan Padavan spun the air into a warm updraft. Henna artists traced delicate geometry, canapés drifted like invitations, and the conversation dialed quickly from small talk to the kind of civic ambition that moves mountains.
Dinner, curated by Elegant Affairs and paired with Wölffer Estate Vineyard wines, led gracefully into a paddle-raising crescendo. Celebrity auctioneer Lydia Fenet conducted a spirited sale that felt equal parts theater and testimony—proof that generosity has cadence when the cause is urgent. Dessert arrived like a curtain call, and the dance floor ignited to Overdrive, a reminder that joy and service can share the same song.
The evening honored Kate and Andrew Davis for unwavering generosity and advocacy, a recognition that felt both heartfelt and emblematic of the night’s thesis: healthcare access is a community masterpiece. “The community clearly understands the value of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and the new East Hampton Emergency Department—and they showed up in a big way,” noted James D. Forbes, board chairman of The Southampton Hospital Association. It read like a pledge, spoken in unison.
A distinguished group of supporters helped power the success, including Veronica Atkins, Jane Bartman, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Maria Brisbane, Marlene Brown, Margo and John Catsimatidis, Wendy and Howard Cox, Kate and Andrew Davis, Margaret and Eric Friedberg, Robert and Joyce Giuffra, David Granville, Jamee and Peter Gregory, Audrey and Martin Gruss, Mark and Susan Kendall, Maureen and Steve Klinsky, Jay Lieberman, Tina Livanos, Fern Mallis, Julie and Billy Macklowe, Jimmy and Margo Nederlander, John Paulson, Jeff Pfeifle, Roz and Nat Perlmutter, Kathy and Othon Prounis, Cami and Tarek Raucci, Peter Thomas Roth, Barbara and Randall Smith, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, Captain Kerry Titheradge, Kimberly and Eric Waldman, Cindy Willis, and Barbara Digan Zweig.
Southampton Hospital Foundation board members lent notable support—Laura Lofaro Freeman and husband Jim, Father Alex Karloutsos and wife Xanthi, Jackie Mitchell, Jean Shafiroff and husband Martin, and Sarah Wetenhalland husband Andrew—as did additional Association leadership, including Chairman James D. Forbes and wife Hollis; President Emily Mastaler and husband Jon McAuliffe; Treasurer John Wambold and wife Melanie; Howard E. Cox; Andrew Davis and wife Kate; Elena A. Ford and husband Mitchell Seldin; J. Oscar Molina; Allison Morrow; Florence R. Rolston, MD; Darin Wiggins, MD; Daniel M. Van Arsdale, DO; and Chairman Emeritus Ken Wright. Stony Brook leadership underscored the institutional backbone—Carol Gomes, CEO/COO of Stony Brook University Hospital; William Wertheim, Executive Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine; and Andrea Goldsmith, President of Stony Brook University.
Gala leadership stitched the night together with polish: Vice Chairs Hollis Forbes, Laura Lofaro Freeman, Sheila Fuchs, Margo Nederlander, Jean Shafiroff, Melanie Wambold, and Cindy Willis; Associate Chairs Brooke Bohnsack, Elizabeth Bowden, Kingsley Crawford, Haley Willis Ludlow, Jacqueline McDermott, Carrie Pasternak Myrlak, Stephanie Nass, Caitlin Diebold O’Connell, Kristin Pasternak, and Lynn A. Scotti; Publicity Chairs Gregory D’Elia and Lisa Tamburini; Corporate Partnership Chair Nancy Stone. Luminous Designs set the sound and light, while media partners—including Dan’s Papers, Express News Group, Hamptons Magazine, Hamptons Social, James Lane Post, The Purist, Social Life, and Spotlight on the Hamptons—broadcast the evening’s purpose beyond the tent.
Mission was the true headliner. Every dollar raised fuels Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s investment across the South Fork—strengthening the Paulson Family Emergency Department, expanding services, and supporting the new Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department. The impact is immediate and local, measured not only in metrics, but in lives steadied and stories extended.
For those less familiar: the Southampton Hospital Foundation advances private philanthropy to support SBSH’s mission, ensuring high-quality healthcare for all East End neighbors. Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, a 120-bed institution staffed by more than 280 clinicians across 48 specialties, serves as the South Fork’s sole emergency-care provider and a designated Level III Trauma Center and primary stroke center, with centers of excellence from cancer care to heart and stroke, breast health, and advanced wound healing, plus 32 satellite locations. It is also the South Fork’s largest employer, with more than 1,200 employees.
The tents will come down, yet the momentum remains. “A Night in Marrakesh” proved that glamour can be a delivery system for good, that generosity is a discipline, and that a community at its best is a living, breathing work of art. For more information: southamptonhospitalfoundation.org.
