Thursday, July 14, A Summer Soiree in New York City

The Mara Society drew together a convivial crowd in the elegant Grand Salon of the Essex House on Central Park South. Four Romanian-American women formed the Mara Society to focus their passion for Romanian culture in a way that would support charitable work in Romania.

The Alex Fund is honored to be the beneficiary of their inaugural event. Paintings, sculpture and jewelry by Romanian artists were featured in the silent auction. The evening’s highlight was a short concert by pianist Matei Varga, whose virtuosity awed the audience as he shared some of his favorite pieces by Chopin, Bartok and Enescu. He was joined by Anamaria Ferentz, whose rich voice brought new resonance to “Smile” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, with a message of hope for a beautiful future.

The auction and ticket sales raised over $10,000 for The Alex Fund. We are deeply grateful to The Mara Society for their hard work and infectious enthusiasm.