The Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation knows how to throw a party in style – Roaring ’20s style | Special Event Photography in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Today may be Halloween, but the real costumes came out on Friday night when sponsors, hosts, and fans of the Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation came dressed to the nines in their finest Roaring ‘20s vintage wear.  Gangsters and their molls, feather boas galore, not to mention a signature gin cocktail for the evening…this is how the costumed crowd celebrated the CHPL Foundation’s 20th anniversary on Friday night.

Here’s a little sneak peek of what went down: Guests as gangsters.  Vintage wear came in stripes, fringe, and beads; suits, suspenders, and fedoras; top hats, walking canes, and even a violin case machine gun case filled with an unexpected surprise.  The Carolina Club was the perfect venue to host the friends and fans of the CHPL Foundation.  They took care of all guests as if they were regulars at this speakeasy.

Scott Maitland of Topo Distillery set the scene with a little known 1920s cocktail called The Fitzgerald, because if you’re going to dress up and have some Roaring-20s-style fun, aren’t you going to need some gin?  Some really good gin?  Maitland has got your number with the Distillery’s Organic Piedmont Gin.

These photos are just the start of the fun that went down at this special event at the Carolina Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. ZimZoom Photo Booth supplied some serious prohibition-era props with their signage declaring “I Love the Roaring Twenties!”

The Chapel Hill Library Foundation knows how to celebrate their 20th anniversary - in style. | Barbara Bell Photography

The Chapel Hill Library Foundation knows how to celebrate their 20th anniversary - in Roaring '20s style. | Barbara Bell Photography

The Street Genie and his jazz band played some serious tunes while Douglas Fairbanks swash buckled onscreen in the 1920 silent film, The Mark of Zorro, care of historian and author Mary Miley.  Miley was also on hand to share 1920s tidbits, as well as her latest book, The Impersonator:

A struggling young vaudeville performer is persuaded to impersonate a missing heiress and gets caught up in a scam that thrusts her deep into the Roaring Twenties’ world of gangsters, bootleggers, and murder.

(eegads!  Don’t you just want to sit down and read this now!?)

More photos to come, but I wanted to share a few favorites here.  I’ll e-mail guests when the site goes live with all the images from CHPL Foundation’s 20th anniversary party – stay tuned for more!

Historian and author Mary Miley talks with guests about her latest book, The Impersonator, a murder mystery set in the 1920s.

Historian and author Mary Miley talks with guests about her latest book, The Impersonator, a murder mystery set in the 1920s.