FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 International Polo Ball ‘08

                     May 1st, 2008, 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, 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 polo players and enthusiasts from the US and abroad for a weekend of fun in the glamorous seaside resort.  Festivities continue the following day, Sat., Aug. 2^nd with a Tribute 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. 

                     Early-bird pricing for advanced ticket purchases includes a $25 discount off the full ticket price of $175/person through June 15^th. (Tables of 10 also available.)  Dinner tickets include cocktails, dinner, & dancing from 7:00pm-midnight. 

Cocktail tickets are also available for $75/person for cocktails & dancing from 9:30-midnight.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.poloeducationfoundation.org or by calling (239) 989-2011 or (401) 847-7090.  Dinner seating is limited. 

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

or email: ray@pearlsofnewport.com

                    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."   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.   

                    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.

            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