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Those who were fortunate to escape to places like Santa Barbara, Santa Fe, Aspen and the Hamptons for the almost record-breaking Dallas summer may not be as anxious to start a new season as those who suffered the warmest summer since 1980. Dallasites who endured a mostly stay-at-home summer are anxious to win the race for a great fall.

Our message from our e-newsletter of a year ago is not dissimilar than our thoughts today.  Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of the real social sprint in Dallas.  The calendar comes out and the lists are started.  While entertaining at home is always the most flattering, now is the time to study our Sources for Caterers and Florists, or for Special Sites and Restaurants with private rooms in case the party plans outgrow your home.  Securing a date on everyone's calendar will make a difference so as to avoid settling for dates and sources that you had not considered.  Even Halloween, Thanksgiving weekend and pre-Christmas parties are booked far in advance. Meanwhile, we encourage you to review last September’s newsletter, Ready, Set, Go – It's Fall in Dallas.

Everyone wants their party to be special, no matter the size. Dallas has had its share of legendary debutante parties, weddings, Super Bowl parties and charity balls. Some parties become part of Dallas' social history, such as the parties of the late Nancy Hamon, whose flair was extraordinary and reflective of a period of grand living for Dallas during the 50s through the 70s.

Along this theme, we decided to research the history of great parties. Certainly, most everyone knows the story of Nicholas Fouquet, France's Minister of Finance, who staged the party of a lifetime to celebrate the completion of his grand chateau, Vaux-le-Vicomte. He threw such a sumptuous fête, for a heavily titled guest list of a thousand, complete with a play by Molière, lavish displays of food and spectacular fireworks in the LeNôtre-designed gardens, that it infuriated the King, Louis XIV. The penalty for upstaging the King: the once up and coming Fouquet spent the rest of his life imprisoned.

We found an article, Blow Out! History's 10 Greatest Banquets, during our musing, that we share with you. With the diminishing ranks of royalty, historic events, such as the Medici wedding of 1600 and the British "Regent's Banquet" in 1817, are few and far between. At the latter event, the soon-to-be George IV of England served a banquet, prepared by the first celebrity chef, Marie-Antoine Carême. I doubt there will be attempts to reproduce three weeks' worth of jousts and temporary palaces, as did Henry VIII of England and François I of France, an event known as “The Field of the Cloth of Gold.” While the article is primarily food-related and British-published, it makes for fun reading. The great Black and White Ball of the 60s, the social spectacular hosted by Truman Capote, and soirées of our Gilded Age magnates are not part of the list. Of course, this summer's royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton has provided plenty of inspiration for brides. We hope you will read the article for an insight into social history.

We are recommending, however, that hosts and hostesses find something special to add to the fall scene, whether a really fabulous meal and spectacular wines or the addition of new tabletop finery for a small dinner party. We saw fabulous antique dinner plates at Bergdorf Goodman's in New York this summer and a stunning runner by Kim Seybert, which could give a dining table an entirely new look. We stopped in at Léron in the D & D Building to admire their exquisite, couture table linens, which add luxe and polish to any soirée. We savored a few comments this summer from Jami Goetze, co-owner of P.O.S.H Couture Rentals, who reflected on P.O.S.H.’s out-of-the–ordinary rentals. Even one component of their inventory can add the "wow" to a party, such as their smashing chiavari chairs in vibrant colors or a few of their unique selection of tablecloths by Resource One. We learned some time ago, while renting tablecloths from BBJ Linen, another of our favorites, that we underestimate the impact and focus of a fabulous table.

Now is the time to consider alternate venues for growing parties, and we have a few new ones to add to the entertaining scene. Duo-All Things Culinary is new to the scene and popular for dinner parties when not wearing their personae of tableware shop or cooking class destination. Of course, Milestone Culinary Arts Center is another favorite for a party with their impressive catering kitchen and staff of chefs. A chef who has her own facility in the Design District is Wendy Krispin, whose catering company is the designated company at several of Dallas' non-profit venues. The selection of sites in Dallas is an excellent one, ranging from the smaller hotels, such as the Joule Hotel and the Stoneleigh Hotel, or F.I.G. (the Fashion Industry Gallery), where creative types have a blank canvas to establish their theme. The larger sites range from the always dramatic Hall of State and the Dallas Arboretum to the museum sites in the Dallas Arts District. For mid-sized parties, don't overlook the wealth of private rooms at Dallas' better restaurants, or restaurants that will happily serve as venue sites on Saturdays mid-day or on Sundays when they are normally closed. The new Marquée Grill has several separate areas conducive to private parties. We will have to see what Alberto Lombardi will have available at his new Highland Park restaurant, Bistro 31, perhaps open by the time this arrives. Our choices are many, and we encourage you to review the hotels, restaurants and unique sites under our Source section on Venues.

Sharpen your pencil, get out the calendar, call a few friends who might want to join you in honoring a deb, a bride, a friend or co-hosting a charity kick-off and review the options.

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