Put on your glitter shoes and button up your vests. It’s benefit season, people, which means the gentleman in the room will be in a need of a bow tie or two. Navigating all this can be a bit of a minefield; a bad benefit asks people to donate while forcing them to listen to misguided speeches, whereas a good benefit can make you feel special for contributing. Without going to a few, it’s impossible to know the difference in advance. Well, good news: I happen to have been to quite a few, and can offer several recommendations and thoughts. Each benefit gets rated on a scale of one to four Koons balloon dogs.
