‘Saturday Night Fever’

Saturday night at the Island Country Club, the members of the Marco Island Historical Society dug deep into their closets for costumes and bling to wear to the MIHS annual gala, “Saturday Night Fever: A Disco Extravaganza.” 

Disco dudes and stone foxes got their groove on, dressed up in sequins and Spandex, peace signs and wild wigs, and boogied the night away in an evening of frivolity and bass-thumping music to raise funds for the serious work of the society. 

After cocktails on the verandah, overlooking the golf course, and a peek at the silent auction items, the dudes and dudettes delved directly into the days of the disco diva, opening the proceedings with a musical tribute to disco queen Donna Summer. This was performed by stunning vocalist (as well as songwriter, producer, and actress) Latraia Savage, glammed up to the max in a gold lamé cape and “savage” heels. Savage is no stranger to Marco Island audiences, having performed two years in a row to sold-out audiences at Rose History Auditorium in tributes to “ladies of soul” including Diana Ross and Tina Turner in addition to Donna Summer. 

First up on the floor were Kathy and David Caruso, but soon the parquet was filled with couples dancing “like nobody’s watching” and raising their hands into the air. Savage toured Summer’s greatest hits, covering tunes including “On the Radio,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls” and “I Will Survive.” 

A number of the seemingly serious and sober citizens of Marco took advantage of the occasion to let another, previously hidden side of their personalities out, including gala co-chairs Jim and Allyson Richards and MIHS board President Tish Champagne and her husband, Rene. 

Even those who didn’t arrive duded up to disco donned accessories, including wild wigs, oversized shades, bling, and air guitars to take a turn at the 360-degree video booth, flinging (counterfeit) $100 bills into the air as the camera and a light ring circled around them. 

After a dinner of surf and turf and rich chocolate cake, the business of fundraising got underway. Auctioneer Jay Zeager, togged out in a white jacket over a black shirt, squeezed the maximum out of the guests for items including a trip to the Country Music Association’s CMA Awards, dining experiences, and a diamond and gold starfish pendant donated by Kathein Jewelers. 

The biggest ticket auction lot of the evening was a guitar signed by 19 of country music’s greatest luminaries, with names including Dolly Parton, Willy Nelson, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, and….well, you get the idea. This was sold to Alan Sandlin, sporting the hair he had in the disco era. Putting together this guitar and this bidder was a fitting match, as Sandlin is himself a guitarist and was a longtime Marco Island entertainer back in the disco era before he and his wife Linda struck it rich in the real estate biz. 

MIHS chief executive officer Pat Rutledge welcomed the guests and took them through a little history of the historical society, speaking proudly of an “extraordinary” seven-and-a-half-year stewardship of the Key Marco Cat and “becoming an award-winning museum, welcoming nearly 300,00 visitors since our opening in 2010. In terms of building the dream, it’s safe to say we ‘hit it out of the park.’”

But sometimes, she told them, “Building the dream is easier than keeping the dream alive.” The MIHS has 45,000 artifacts in their collection, and “We’re responsible for caring for these. That comes at a cost.” Each year, she said, they must raise something like $750,000 to curate the permanent and temporary exhibits that bring the museum’s stories and Marco’s history to life. 

One of those temporary exhibits, celebrating “The Florida House,” is now open at the historical museum and is being officially christened at a reception Thursday evening. It focuses on the same era as that celebrated in Saturday’s gala, and all are now part of Marco Island history.