DAP Health’s imagining for its 2027 fundraising gala The Chase comes from a long line of astounding spectacles.

Words by Jeffrey Norman

DAP Health’s most popular annual fundraising event, The Chase, is literally putting on a brand new face this season as it presents “Masquerade,” an evening of intrigue, spectacle, and impact on Saturday, February 20, 2027, at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

Drawing from the centuries-old tradition of elaborate masked celebrations, the 33rd Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards will blend entertainment, social interaction, and artistic expression with the characteristic philanthropy that has been the hallmark of the event since its inception.

All proceeds from The Chase support DAP Health’s life-changing access to health care from the Coachella Valley to the San Diego coast. Organizers promise an evening where guests will come adorned and leave transformed. The event’s namesake — a celebrated philanthropist and interior designer — would be thrilled by the evening’s elegance and adventure.

“We thought it was time to refresh The Chase with something new, and what better way than a masquerade ball?” says longtime board member and event chair Kevin Bass. “For centuries, these have been the event of the season — from 15th-century Venice to Truman Capote’s 1966 Black and White Ball and Bianca Jagger’s 1977 birthday party at Studio 54. They are always filled with mystery, excitement, meaning, and fun.”

A long lineage

Originating in Venice of the 17th and 18th century, masquerade balls were originally private, elaborate, historically inspired celebrations, which featured mandatory period costumes, ornate masks, multi-course dinners, live performances, and dancing inside historic Venetian palaces.

Later, these celebrations became more public affairs, with masks offering anonymity in a society where class, reputation, and appearances governed everyday life.

The tradition crossed the pond when Alva Vanderbilt, a socially ambitious woman from a “new money” family, organized “The Vanderbilt Fancy Dress Ball” of 1883 to gain entry into New York’s elite “List of 400.”

The ball was described as a “showpiece of Gilded Age excess,” with guests spending months preparing elaborate historical costumes by the best dressmakers and cobblers.

The high-society masquerade transformed the Vanderbilts into accepted members of New York’s crème de la crème. Photographs and costumes from the event are preserved in collections at the Museum of the City of New York and the New York Historical Society.

Author, author

Decades later, writer Truman Capote (“In Cold Blood”) hosted his “Black and White Ball” in November 1966 — dubbing it “the party of the century” — with a meticulously curated guest list that blended high society with creative luminaries. Among the partygoers were Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow, Lauren Bacall, Andy Warhol, Edward Albee, Stephen Sondheim, Brooke Astor, and Gloria Vanderbilt.

Masks were required to be worn for the first hour of the party, then requested to be removed at midnight. Capote was “more excited by the preliminaries of it,” said guest and friend Lee Radziwill, “by who he’d invite, and who he definitely would not invite.” In his own inimitable fashion, Capote transformed the masquerade into a modern media phenomenon.

Vive la France!

Two French extravaganzas carried the masquerade tradition into increasingly imaginative territory. In 1969, Baron Alexis de Redé’s Oriental Ball was held at the magnificent Hôtel Lambert in Paris.

Cited as a prime example of mid-20th century opulent costume balls, the event holds a place in the history of Parisian social life for its fusion of European high society with exotic theatricality.

In 1972, Marie-Hélène de Rothschild and her husband Baron Guy de Rothschild hosted The Rothschild Surrealist Ball at Château de Ferrières, considered to be the largest and most luxurious 19th-century château in France.

The affair, remembered as one of the most visually striking and artistically ambitious social events of the 20th century, has inspired fashion designers, artists, and immersive event planners for decades. Cited as an influence for Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” it captured the avant-garde spirit of the early 1970s and showcased the Rothschilds’ flair for transforming private gatherings into unforgettable works of art. Among the guests were Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, and Salvador Dalí, along with members of various European royal families.

Disco, anyone?

Celebrating her 30th birthday, Bianca Jagger hosted a legendary party — if not strictly a masquerade — at Studio 54 just one week after it opened in 1977. A photograph of Jagger in a flowing red Halston dress atop a white horse is one of the most recognizable images of the 1970s disco era.

With a guest list that included Cher, Margaux Hemingway, Brooke Shields, Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol, and others, it symbolized an evolution from the early aristocratic ritual into a modern celebration of personal expression and theatricality.

And in Palm Springs

Inspired by the legendary parties that preceded it, The Chase 2027 will be a night of sophistication and mystery, where glamorous guests, at first tantalizingly unrecognizable, make sweeping grand entrances for the party of the season.

Then, as the evening progresses, true identities will be unveiled, revealing the beautifully familiar faces of hundreds of humanitarians who have long made generous philanthropy on behalf of DAP Health an enduring part of their persona and legacy.

Guests can expect an evening that engages all the senses, with immersive entertainment, more than 50 musicians filling the ballroom, and delightful surprises around every corner.

As the largest annual fundraiser for DAP Health — not to mention the last grand scale gala in the desert, alongside the Palm Springs International Film Awards — there will also be several opportunities for people to come together for the shared purpose of helping DAP Health continue its vital work in the community.

Silent and live auctions will offer enticing treats and one-of-a-kind experiences, and finally, a spirited paddle raise will unmask the grand tradition of giving that makes the Greater Palm Springs community so special.

“The magic of The Chase has always been about more than a spectacular party,” says DAP Health Chief Marketing Officer Steven Henke. “It’s about bringing people together for a night of friendship, compassion, and shared commitment to making a difference.”

So, on February 20, put on your most imaginative costume, choose a mask that sparks a little mystery, and be part of an unforgettable evening that celebrates not only the generous heart of Palm Springs, but the lives transformed by that generosity. For at “The Chase: Masquerade,” the most beautiful thing to be revealed may well be the extraordinary spirit of the people behind the masks.

To learn about sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets for The Chase, please visit daphealth.org/thechase.