FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 International Polo Ball ‘08

                     Newport, RI, …The social highlight of Newport’s 2008 summer polo season will be the 8^th annual

International Polo Ball charity gala to benefit the  Newport Polo Education Foundation.  The annual black tie gala will be held on

Friday, Aug. 1^st at one of Newport’s most glamorous locations ~ Rosecliff .

                      Guests of honor will be the Egyptian Polo Team.  The evening, themed Friday Night Fever, will include cocktails on the terrace overlooking the gardens and sea, gourmet Pharaoh’s feast prepared by Plantation Catering (voted Best Caterer in Rhode Island in 2007), disco dancing in Studio 548, and a live and silent auction with fabulous items on which to bid, with proceeds to support the Newport Polo Education Foundation,

                      The popular summer soiree, now in its eighth year, attracts enthusiasts and polo players from the US and abroad for a weekend of fun in the glamorous seaside resort. 

                      Gala Dinner Tickets are = $175. (Patron Tables of 10 also available.)  Dinner tickets include cocktails, dinner, & dancing from 7:00pm-midnight.  

                     Cocktail tickets are also available for $75 for cocktails & dancing from 9:30-midnight.  Dinner seating is limited.  Tickets can be purchased either:

• online at www.poloeducationfoundation.org

• by sending a check payable to NPEF, c/o Treasurer Jim Garner, 15 Sherman Street, Newport RI 02840

• or calling (239) 989-2011 or (401) 787-1768. 

                   Festivities continue the following day, Sat., Aug. 2^nd with a polo match between USA and Egypt in the Newport International Polo Series.  The match will conclude with an award ceremony and an authentic New England lobsterbake. 

                   Tickets to Saturday’s polo match and lobsterbake are sold separately by the Newport International Polo Series.   Lobsterbake reservations must be made in advance by calling (401) 847-7090 by July 29^th.   Polo match tickets are available at the entry gates, which open 2 hours prior to the start of the match. The polo match is at 5pm on the polo grounds of Glen Farm on the outskirts of Newport, located at 715 East Main Road (aka Route 138) in Portsmouth, RI

                  And for polo players, USPA members are invited to participated in club chukkers on Sun., Aug. 3^rd as the guests of the Newport Polo Club.   Pony leasing can be arranged thru Dori Burner  (239) 989-2011 or Ted Torrey (401) 662-0781.

                   Lodging is reserved at Pearls Boutique Hotels in Newport for out of town visitors.  For booking, please call 401-848-0061

or email: ray@pearlsofnewport.com

                     Proceeds from the gala benefit the Newport Polo Education

Foundation, a non-profit 501[3]c organization registered in Rhode Island with a

mission to support and develop training and educational programs surrounding the

sport of polo, as well as other charitable causes.  Gala co-chairs Dori Burner &

Matthew Fonseca from the Newport Polo Club anticipate a very entertaining event,

adding, “We are dedicated to helping the Newport Polo Education Foundation foster

the sport here in Newport, polo’s American birthplace, and we are grateful to the

community for supporting Newport’s grand polo tradition."      

                 The gala will take place at Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue in Newport,

the premier estate amidst America’s finest collection of gilded age mansions. 

Commissioned by Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs in 1899, architect

Stanford White modeled Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of

French kings at Versailles. After the house was completed in 1902, at a reported

cost of $2.5 million, Mrs. Oelrichs hosted fabulous entertainments here, including

a fairy tale dinner and a party featuring famed magician Harry Houdini.