The Parrish Art Museum’s annual Spring Fling community party, fundraiser, and networking event took place Saturday, April 5 in Water Mill. For the first time, the event featured an art detective scavenger hunt in the galleries, in addition to the silent auction. Spring Fling helps support the Parrish’s year-round educational programs for children, and unofficially kicks off the Hamptons event season each year. Winter weary Hamptonites slip on a new party dress and stilettos and head out to have some fun.

“The Parrish Art Museum has always been an integral part of our East End community and Spring Fling specifically funds programs for children,” said event co-chair Nancy Hardy. “All of our kids have grown up coming to the Museum on school field trips and have participated in the annual Student Art Exhibition, but the Parrish offers programs and events for all children—from full- time residents to summer visitors.”

This year’s event included live music by the band Noiz, and hors d’oeuvre and an open bar featuring wine and spirits from Niche Import Co. and Alpha Noble Vodka.

The silent auction offered goods and services donated by the East End business and professional community, including VIP tickets to LIVE with Kelly & Michael, a surf board from Island Riders, a skate board from Flying Point Surf Shop, VIP tent passes to the 2014 Hampton Classic Horse Show, spa treatments from John Dillon Salon, handbags from Brahmin and Eric Javits, and more.

Now in its second year being held at the Museum’s new Herzog & de Meuron building, Spring Fling began in the 1990s and raises over $100,000 annually for the Education Department. In 2013, the Museum directly served 1500 families, 2100 students, and over 1000 adults. Programs included summer camp, workshops, tours, and art studio workshops.

Always the best dancer at the party, Zoe Hoare of English Country Antiques gets the party started….

The Museum’s programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.

More about the Parrish Art Museum:

The Parrish Art Museum is the oldest cultural institution on the East End of Long Island, uniquely situated within one of the most concentrated creative communities in the United States. The Parrish is dedicated to the collection, preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of art from the nineteenth century to the present, with a particular focus on honoring the rich creative legacy of the East End, celebrating the region’s enduring heritage as a vibrant art colony, telling the story of our area, our “sense of place,” and its national—even global—impact on the world of art. The Parrish is committed to educational outreach, to serving as a dynamic cultural resource for its diverse community, and to celebrating artistic innovation for generations to come.