Samantha Lee / Business Insider
LuLaRoe founder DeAnne Stidham celebrated her birthday with a masquerade ball on Saturday.
- LuLaRoe founder DeAnne Stidham kicked off her sixtieth birthday with a masquerade-themed party at Riverside, California's Mission Inn & Spa.
- Partygoers wielded oversized cardboard caricatures of Stidham's smiling face.
- The event at the historic landmark came about as LuLaRoe faces a number of lawsuits.
LuLaRoe founder DeAnne Stidham marked her sixtieth birthday with a masquerade soirée at a historic hotel, even as her multi-level marketing company fends off multiple lawsuits.
The masquerade-themed event took place at Riverside, California's Mission Inn Hotel & Spa on Saturday evening, according to multiple Instagram posts reviewed by Business Insider. Guests included loved ones and LuLaRoe retailers alike.
Stidham launched the multi-level marketing
The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, a Mission Revival Style landmark, has hosted US presidents, Hollywood stars, and luminaries like Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, and Albert Einstein over the decades. According to the award-winning inn's website, rooms start at $199 a night.
A private party for around 40 guests on a Saturday evening would start at $5,000 at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. The same event with 100 guests would cost $10,000 and up, but the price might vary depending on food and beverage choices, audiovisual services, and décor options.
It's unclear how many guests attended Stidham's event. LuLaRoe did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Business Insider reviewed Instagram posts from the event to glean a number of details of what occurred at Stidham's birthday bash.
Social media posts depict a flock of revelers congregating in the inn's courtyard, faces disguised by feathered and bejeweled masks. Some brandished oversized caricatures of Stidham's smiling face. Above the crowd, acrobats twisted on strands of blue silk.
Stidham posed for a few selfies with guests, sporting a shawl dripping in gold beads, a loopy silver mask, and matching facial art, according to photos reviewed by Business Insider.
Other partygoers documented the night by modeling before the on-site chapel altar - gilded with 18-karat gold leaf - or in the courtyard, beside a small statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of merchants. These guests posted the results of their photo shoots on Instagram.
Business Insider reviewed one guest's picture of a deep pink cake, bedecked with a carnival mask of its own and a sparkling topper that read "Sixty."
Stidham was also regaled with an approximately seven-minute dance routine performed by her children and their spouses, according to a video viewed by Business Insider. The group busted a move to the musical stylings of The Carpenters, Elton John, Abba, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan, La Bouche, Basia, Ace of Base, Montell Jordan, Pharrell Williams, and Lee Greenwood.
Stidham even got up to join her family when 50 Cent's "In Da Club" came on.
"Oh my gosh," Stidham joked at the conclusion of the performance, according to a video reviewed by Business Insider. "I can't believe it. Whose fault was this?"
The celebration wasn't confined to the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, however.
LuLaRoe retailers also took to Instagram, posting photos of themselves wearing red - Stidham's favorite color - marked with the hashtag #llrbirthdaysquad and #llrsquadlife in honor of the founder.
"On Sunday we wear red to honor the queen of LuLaRoe," read one post, which Stidham subsequently shared on her Instagram story.
The founder also got in on the trend, filming an Instagram live in her office on Sunday. The workspace had been decorated in pink, white, and gold balloons and streamers.
"I guess that's what we have to do, we have to celebrate the day," she said, according to video reviewed by Business Insider. "Look at this. I'm not kidding you these guys, they put a lot of work into this. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my amazing people here at the office."
On January 28, the company posted a birthday message to its founder on Instagram: "Each and everyday you strive to make everyone feel loved and appreciated."
The birthday celebration came days after Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against LuLaRoe, alleging that the company is an illegal "pyramid scheme." LuLaRoe's longtime manufacturer, Providence Industries, is also suing the company for $63 million in damages, having alleged that the company consistently failed to pay its debts. LuLaRoe has denied the claims in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit from Providence Industries also alleges that LuLaRoe, the Stidhams, and their associates have created a web of shell companies in order to protect their high-value assets, including a Wyoming ranch worth over $7 million, luxury Koenigsegg cars, and a Gulfstream jet.
Business Insider has spoken to multiple former LuLaRoe retailers who have said they're been waiting months to receive thousands of dollars in refunds from the company.
- Read more about LuLaRoe:
- Washington Attorney General accuses LuLaRoe of operating an illegal 'pyramid scheme' in new lawsuit
- LuLaRoe supplier files new demand for immediate seizure of $34 million and alleges the company is quietly liquidating goods
- LuLaRoe founder says the company is 'starting over' amid seller exodus and looming $63 million legal battle