The invitation to the artEdge gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art promised to dispel midwinter funk. The $1,000-per-ticket gala grossed $1.1 million to fund various MCA programs.

The invitation to Saturday night's artEdge gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art promised to dispel midwinter funk. The party delivered with an entertaining mix of food, drink, art — and apparel.

"Doesn't this look fabulous?" said gala co-chair Penny Pritzker, addressing the crowd of 500 during cocktail hour, held in a huge tent behind the museum. Ms. Pritzker, who wore a snug leopard-print dress and dramatic black hat, might have been referring to the tent, decked out in minimalist shrink-wrapped furniture and bathed in pink and blue light.

Then again, she might have been referring to fellow revelers. Noteworthy outfits included acid-yellow feathery pants (worn by a man), an oversize sequined bow-tie, plenty of mini dresses, a trio of disco-worthy white suits and miles of platform shoes.

Honorary co-chairs Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule played it safer: He wore a snow-white, open-collar shirt and charcoal suit; she, a black dress with a dramatic black necklace and fringed scarf. "I appreciate the MCA for not making this a black-tie event," the mayor said, then praised the museum for helping make Chicago a "city that's second to none, and the place we call home."

Before dinner, dancers wearing colorful mop-like creations — "sound suits" designed by Chicago artist Nick Cave — swept through the tent, creating a lively swooshing noise and a blur of color. "This reminds us we live in a world-class city," said Michelle Boone, the city's commissioner of cultural affairs and special events, as she watched the dancers whirl by.

Dinner — beet salad followed by roast chicken with spoonbread pudding, caramelized yams and collard greens — was served in the museum building. During the half-hour stretch between salads and the main course, guests seemed to get antsy. George Clinton, the evening's featured performer, didn't help when he sashayed past tables at 9 p.m., just when his performance was to begin.

Thirty minutes later it did, back in the tent, as dinner guests joined dozens who paid $150 for the concert and a dessert buffet of fun-sized cakes and parfaits. Mr. Clinton and his band, Parliament Funkadelic, launched the dance party with a romp through "Flashlight," the band's 1977 hit.

The $1,000-per-ticket gala grossed $1.1 million to fund various Museum of Contemporary Art programs.