Inside The Lowline’s Forces of Nature Gala Honoring Alan Cumming

by Eddie Roche

Earth, air, water, and fire were the inspirations for The Lowline’s Forces of Nature costume gala held at Capitale on the Bowery on Monday night. It was a fitting theme for the non-profit that’s set to be the world’s first underground park and an extraordinary addition to New York City. For those unfamiliar, the project, set to open in 2021, will dramatically transform a forgotten historic trolley terminal on the Lower East Side using innovative solar technology and design.

This year’s dinner honored longtime supporter Alan Cumming (dressed as Spider-Man) and local high school student Veronica Vasquez, who serves as one of the org’s young ambassadors. “I’ve always said I never wanted to throw a fundraiser that I personally wouldn’t want to attend,” co-founder and executive director Dan Barasch tells us. “There’s too much rubber chicken on the fundraising circuit. So we asked folks to dress up for Halloween, with a Forces of Nature theme. I think the creativity on display was a great metaphor for the creative spirit and energy behind the Lowline. We don’t want to be like every other organization. We want to be more inspiring, more fun, more engaging… and we couldn’t have had a better honoree to exemplify the Lowline spirit than Alan Cumming.” After dinner, guests hit the after party, where DJ Lina Bradford spun and fire-breathing performances enchanted the crowd. Cumming snuck out early to resume filming the next morning on his upcoming CBS TV show, but he didn’t walk away empty-handed. The Lowline forgoed a statue and sent him home with a composite of plant species from the Lowline Lab—mosses, ferns, ivy, and philodendron, all of which can live underground. Even Meryl doesn’t have that yet!  

 

 

Photos Courtesy of The Lowline by Rommel Demno/BFA.com and Jammi York

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