Five Virtual Events to Slate Into Your Spring Social Schedule

Kristen Tauer
·3 min read

Ongoing restrictions of live, in-person events in New York means that the spring social season, typically brimming with galas and events, will be largely canceled for a second time. But while sitting through multicourse dinners at packed event venues like Cipriani for now remain a vestige of pre-pandemic times, many organizations are continuing to lean on at-home virtual soirees to garner support. (Others, including the Museum of the City of New York and New York Botanical Garden, have optimistically slated their spring in-person gala events for early June.) Below, a look at five upcoming virtual events to attend from home.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Winter Lunch
The Society of MSK typically hosts its winter lunch at the glitzy Rainbow Room just as New York Fashion Week is ramping up. This season the lunch, sponsored by Net-a-porter for the sixth year, will be a virtual affair on Feb. 3. The event benefits MSK Kids and will feature remarks from Dr. Andrew Kung, who leads the cancer center’s pediatric department.

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amfAR Hosts “A Gala for Our Time”
In lieu of its usual fashion week gala in New York, amfAR is hosting a virtual event — “A Gala for Our Time” — on a forthcoming date this spring. The event, which will benefit the amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19, will feature an interactive cocktail hour, live auction, DJs and celebrity hosts.

City Harvest Virtual Winter Family Carnival: Neon Dance Party
Here’s a different Zoom experience for the young philanthropists. City Harvest is hosting a virtual dance party on Feb. 25, hosted by Chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s daughters Madeline and Anna Zakarian. A “Party Box” will be delivered with each ticket purchase, with child-friendly craft and beverage projects. Through an interactive event site, event attendees will also learn TikTok dances and have an opportunity to partake in karaoke and sing-a-longs. The event will support City Harvest’s efforts to feed families currently facing food insecurity during the pandemic.

New York City Ballet Annual Luncheon
The NYCB will host its annual luncheon virtually on March 9 at 1 p.m. EST. The event, “A Parting Pas de Trois,” will honor principal dancers Maria Kowroski, Ask la Cour and Gonzalo Garcia, who are retiring from the company during the 2020-21 season. The dancers will participate in a live panel discussion about their careers, moderated by Donya Archer Bommer during the event; other NYCB company members will participate in conversations accessible within private virtual rooms. Tickets starting at $500 will include the extra perk of a “lunchtime refreshment kit.”

New York Public Library’s Spring Library Lunch
On April 22, the NYPL’s Library Lunch will celebrate the “art of the short story” with writers Nicole Krauss, Zadie Smith and Elizabeth Strout in conversation with New Yorker editor David Remnick. While guests will have to procure their own lunches, tickets for the virtual event will include a pre-event delivery of a curated selection of books by the featured authors.

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