The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Flights of Fancy Annual Spring Gala captivated the crowd at the Central Park Zoo. The event honored Liz Claiborne’s widower, Art Ortenberg, and Dr. Jonathan Fanton.

Co-Chairs included Allison and Leonard Stern, Gillian Hearst Simonds and Christian Simonds, Faith and Peter Coolidge, Katharina Otto-Bernstein and Nathan Bern­stein, Ashley and Ogden Phipps, and Priscilla and Ward Woods.

Guests flashed their own plumage, with Keren Craig, Georgina Chapman, Mira Sorvino, Bernadette Peters, Emmy Rossum, Chuck Scarborough, Muffie Potter Aston, Devon Aoki and DJ Cassidy, looking resplendent against the backdrop of the zoo. The ever-wondrous Preston Bailey worked ornithological magic with his designs that reflected the vibrant birdlife, including dancing cranes, crooning pigeons, and brilliantly colored flamingos.

The event emphasized that birds do more than provide color and beauty—they also maintain the earth’s ecological balance and alert us to shifts like climate change that impact all species.

The party was a stunning tribute to the protection of the Conservation Society’s birds, and the New York society “birds” who attended looked very well preserved too.