Legends of Music: Halloween at the Duke Mansion

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Duke Mansion here in Charlotte, it is a gorgeous 1915 mansion that is now a bed and breakfast. The historic mansion hosts lots of special events, from summertime cocktail hours in their sprawling gardens to Easter egg hunts, holiday parties, and more. Clint and I recently joined the Preservation Society, a group dedicated to helping sustain this special landmark. The first event we were invited to as members was the annual Halloween party at the mansion; this year's theme was Legends of Music.

After giving it some thought, we settled on a couples' costume that we thought was right for the occasion: what better legends to be for an evening that Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton? We found a Western blazer for Clint, I bedazzled a lovely fringed dress, and with wigs, plenty of jewelry, and one stick-on beard, we were ready to go.

A good rule of thumb for dressing as Dolly: the more sparkle, the better.

The entrance to the mansion, ready to rock.

I have to say I've never seen the Duke Mansion look quite like this.

When we arrived, we were excited to see the front of the house all lit up, with two giant guitars flanking the front door. We love ourselves a theme, and this really set the scene for a great party. The invitation said to come dressed as your favorite music legend, or in cocktail attire. As we made our way up the stairs, an older couple behind us was dressed very simply in a dark suit for him and a conservative dress for her. We glanced at our (glitzy) selves and both wondered: are we about to be the only costumed characters here? This could go very wrong.

Luckily, as soon as we entered the foyer, we were greeted by a pretty spectacular Elton John and we knew we were right in line with the spirit of the evening. Whew!

Our costumes for the occasion: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

Our flamboyant greeter, Elton John.

We made our way through the silent auction tables, making a few bids that I'm sad to say did not win (if you happened to win the Old Edwards Inn or Diamonds Direct auctions and don't want your prize, we love travel and my birthstone is a diamond, just FYI). One of the rooms had been transformed into the Rat Pack Lounge, complete with a karaoke system. We surveyed the scene and were pleased to see we weren't the only ones who had gone all out with our costumes--there were so many creative costumes and the attendees were all dressed to impress.

The Blues Brothers

Britney Spears, Axl Rose, Madonna, and Prince.

This KISS couple scores major points for their makeup efforts alone.

Waiters were passing themed hors d'ouvres throughout the night, with names like Hokey Poké Bowls, Funky Chicken Pot Pies, Mini Cheeseburgers in Paradise, and Tartlettes with Raspberry Beret Puree. The buffet tables had food that was also decorated for the occasion, like these mannequin heads with fruit skewers for effect:

I'm getting a-head of myself, but the buffet was fantastic.

The table decorations (the candle holder is made of old cassette tapes).

The largest ballroom was set up with a DJ, and plenty of great people watching on the dance floor. We thought we were being original with our costume choice, so I was surprised to count four other Dolly Partons among us!

With one of the other Dollys at the party.

Kenny and Dolly, with Dolly and Kenny. Great minds think alike.

Vanilla Ice was there, and he got his moment in the spotlight with a solo dance
to "Ice, Ice, Baby" on the dance floor.

Pop star and "Chandelier" singer Sia.

The Village People hitting the dance floor. I'll bet you can guess their song.

Run DMC (she sang karaoke later that night and had a voice like an angel).

We saw costumes ranging from Johnny and June Carter Cash to Weird Al Yankovic, with plenty of generic rock stars (and of course, sexy rockers...always). Everyone was dressed to the nines, the mansion was decorated from floor to ceiling, and a good time was had by all. I'm not sure how Dolly manages to stay so sweet and perky all the time, because after a few hours in my wig, lashes, and heels, I couldn't wait to get home to my pajamas and Ugg bedroom shoes. We were sad to leave, and both agreed it was one of the best parties we have been to in ages. Let's just go ahead and say it: the Legends of Music party ROCKED!

Observation from Clint, "Women really notice eyelashes, don't they?"

Just a couple of Islands in the Stream.

I hope your Halloween ROCKS!