Next week: Night at the Speakeasy benefit

“A benefit party for a swell cause” is how Jena Melancon, executive director of the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council, describes the council’s first ever Jazz Age event, “A Night at the Speakeasy.”

On Thursday, October 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. the Museum of Commerce at 115 East Zarragossa Street in Pensacola’s historic district will be transformed into a Prohibition-era “juice joint” complete with secret password entry and speakeasy-themed surprises.

While party attendees are invited to come as they are, Melancon expects many will get in the spirit of the evening and come as guys and dolls, sheiks and shebas, and flappers and swells. Marsha’s Menagerie in West Pensacola, the event’s official costumier, carries a selection of attire for the occasion. There will be “swanky swill,” finger foods by Chef Blake Rushing, and 1920s music by the New Orleans Ramblers, who are a sponsor of the event.

The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to create and encourage collaboration between like-minded community stakeholders who value sharing the central Gulf Coast with the rest of the world by facilitating professional and personal interaction for international leaders during official visits to the area; enhancing respect and communication through international exchanges and alliances; forging cultural, educational, and business relationships with the global community through citizen diplomacy; promoting greater understanding of global affairs in our community through a balance of public events, educational activities, and the International Visitor Leadership Program of the U.S. Department of State; and promoting the central Gulf Coast as an important center of commerce, culture, and tourism.

Since the Council’s founding in 2008, it has hosted 946 visitors from 160 countries. The proceeds raised through the Speakeasy event will fund the cost of an internship for one year.

For more information and tickets to the event go to gulfcoastdiplomacy.org or http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk+a07e868o47j9249fb1c.

It’s duck soup!