Gatsby Gala Fifth Anniversary Edition

For the fifth time, the Allegany County Historical Society is opening the Brooke Whiting House to celebrate the peak of Western Maryland’s affluence and influence through the lens of a great American novel, “The Great Gatsby.”

This gala fundraiser is an enjoyable tradition when we dress in our best 1920s outfits and re-live a racy 1929 prohibition party as guests of F. Brooke and Ruth Whiting in their 1911 home. This was Cumberland’s boom time. The Whitings were active in everything from banking to beer brewing. In our time machine gala, they’re hosting a party and anticipating the end of Prohibition with unbridled optimism.

Known to our ACHS family simply as “Gatsby”, this night has become a must-do social gathering for all the right reasons! Surprise arrivals. Great food. Live Jazz. An amazing setting among Brooke Whiting Jr and his sister Anne’s collections of art, books, and furnishings, astutely acquired from antiquities dealers and during their world travels and donated, with the house, to ACHS. Proceeds benefit the Allegany County Historical Society’s preservation and educational mission, as established beginning in 1937.

The Whiting House collections glisten… especially rare books that were our benefactor’s passionate profession. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel about the glamorous Roaring 20s was powerfully predictive of America’s future through the dark fate of his protagonist, complicated and mysterious Jay Gatsby. Now understood to be semi-autobiographical about his tumultuous life with wife Zelda, naturally the Fitzgerald’s are always invited!

Doors Open at 6 PM

• Attire: Formal or Semi Formal 1920s Era Recommended
• Bar: Open Bar free to all ticket buyers

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Host or Publisher Allegany County Historical Society