The National Doll & Toy Collectors Club of NYC: 75th Anniversary Gala

The 75th Anniversary Gala of the National Doll and Toy Collectors Club of NYC was held at the Terrace on the Park in Queens, NY on Saturday, April 28 2012.  Although I have driven past the unusual building hundreds of times, I had never been inside. When I was a teacher, I took classes to the area's science museum. I've been to the US Open several times. And when Shea Stadium was there, I attended a couple of baseball games, too. But this was a first and I was very happy to have the experience. The restaurant is on the site of two past World Fairs and from it's high perch and huge windows one can see symbols of the last one, the Unisphere, and one of the remaining buildings. You can also see CitiField and the Tennis Center (but not in the picture below.)

Terrace on the Park is a very impressive location. The food was good, too! Delicious hot hors d'ouvres were served during the cocktail hour. At that time we got to see the centerpiece Evangeline. She is called Star Dust. She's all silvery with a flowing gown and lots of jewelry. She has glitter on her eyelids and incredibly long platinum hair. The centerpiece base was used previously for a display at a Tonner convention. That one was sparkly gold. This one is silver.

I have not removed my doll from the box completely but I've been told that she is wigged and that her hands and feet are removable! This Evangeline has the newly engineered, more poseable body.
She is quite a beautiful doll.

The image above shows she with her hair still encased in plastic and without her headpiece.

There were two vendors there in addition to Tonner -Wilde Imagination. One was Facets by Marcia, a wonderful institution by now. I love looking at her items and no matter how many times I find myself at one of her sales tables, there's always something else to see. One of her new products are wine glasses actually made from glass. The are so pretty and delicate.

 Tonner had a small but delightful display of Wilde Imagination dolls.

The club itself had an interesting display of artifacts from their 75 year history. They also had a great display of Worlds Fair memorabilia.

Many people took time during the cocktail hour to buy raffle tickets and shop and chat with friends and the Tonner staff.

 Joe was caught enjoying the food and Jack shows off his new iPhone gadget which reads credit cards. It was really cool. After a payment is purchased, the buyer signs her name by finger! No more machines. They make it so easy to spend, spend, spend. Michelle got a lot of practice with my credit card.

AnneMarie Beigner, the moderator of the Evangeline Ghastly Yahoo group, put together an amazingly gorgeous OOAK Evangeline and hand made fashions from members of her group. Some of the contributions were from overseas.  The auction for this wonderful collection took place near the end of the festivities. I think the winning bid was $725. All of that will go to the charity.

At first I was surprised that it wasn't more but in reality, the attendees were not solely Wilde Imagination collectors.  At my table only two other people besides myself had Wilde Imagination dolls. 

Speaking of people at my table, this punk Ellowyne accompanied it's creator, Jane Bielak.

The highlight of the program was Robert Tonner's talk on the history of the fashion doll. It was really interesting and I couldn't help but think that it would make a great piece in FDQ. I could hear him well but the table at which I was seated was quite far from the podium and I could barely see the projection screen behind him.

The event souvenir doll was a stunning raven-haired Ellowyne with inset eyes. She is wearing a white lace dress with lacey tights and silver shoes. She is adorned with lots of baubles. She even comes with a rhinestone embellished crown!

Her name - Baubles, Bangles and Blues. What else?

I wonder if her right eyebrow is raised in a quizzical fashion intentionally. I love it. It gives her more personality and character.
Attendees also received a silver wrapped box which contained an Ellowyne fashion item.
Also in the souvenir bags were catalogs and an assortment of little goodies.
The club did a fabulous job putting on this event! Congratulations.