Giant Lantern Headdress Shines at Bal Masque
“Flower Drum Song,” a 29-pound floral headdress depicting a gold dragon caught in a flame-colored Chinese lantern, won the Grand Sweepstakes prize at a benefit for St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton on Saturday night.
The 26th annual Bal Masque, themed “Music! Music! Music!,” was sponsored by Damas de Caridad, a hospital support group. Proceeds were estimated at $70,000.
Nearly 800 guests applauded mannequin Susie Tom at the Anaheim Hilton when she appeared in a headdress that measured “eight feet across and six feet above the model’s head,” said its designer, Modesto Busto.
Busto chose the “Flower Drum Song” theme, he said, because the play was about “miracles. A hundred million miracles! About hopes and dreams of coming to a country coming true.” In 1929, Busto said, his father had dreamed of coming to the United States from the Philippines. “And he made it. And he’s been trying to give back to this wonderful country ever since.”
To create the lantern’s lacy effect, Busto glued thousands of carnation, daisy and amaryllis petals to its filigree frame. A star burst of fresh red anthurium accented one side. The dragon’s scales were composed of thousands of leaf petals glued to a frame, then painted with gold. Each scale was then painstakingly tipped in white. “And then I sprayed it with iridescent glitter to give it a mystical feeling,” Busto said. “I used seaweed for the nose. It had just the right texture and color.” Busto connected a thin baton to the dragon’s jaws. When Tom gave it a yank, the dragon’s jaws parted menacingly. Busto had placed in the competition for four consecutive years, he said. “But this is the first time I’ve won the sweepstakes trophy. The experience is wonderful. It gives me a chance to be creative and help a charity.”
The free-lance designer spent approximately 1,000 hours making the headdress, he said. He assembled most of it at home in Fountain Valley. “I had the lantern going in the living room--it was too big to put anywhere else--and the dragon going in my pool room. It’s like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. There are so many components.”
Also winning awards were “Green Eyes” by designer Jim Delamore, Judges Trophy; “Another Cha Cha,” by Darrell Poper, Las Flores trophy; “Rhapsody in Blue,” also by Delamore for George Colouris Productions, the St. Jude trophy, and “Primitif,” by the Friends of Damas de Caridad, the Damas de Caridad trophy.
“Another Cha Cha” also won the People’s Choice Award (via an audience tally). With a sway that combined the best of the rumba, cha cha and samba, mannequin Jan Zamarra paraded before the audience wearing a ruffled calypso gown. Her headdress featured seven 18-inch faux cattleya orchids and two five-foot macaw parrots--one a breathtaking combination of jungle greens and blues, the other sunset-hued in brilliant reds and yellows.
Before the show, guests had dined on fillet of beef and salmon in champagne sauce in a setting combining high tech with Art Deco. For centerpieces, J. W.’s Distinctive Designs of Corona del Mar had placed seven-foot Lucite tubes containing twinkle lights in regal glass vases. Some tubes held cascades of fresh orchids and gardenias.
The stage was hung with a gold Mylar shimmer curtain. Splashing fountains flanked the mannequin entrance.
Also competing for awards were “Stardust Ballroom,” by Robert Schmaltz; “Chariots of Fire,” by Randy Duncan and Bill Bettis; “Musica Espanola,” by Ed Seaman and “Celebration,” by Maxx Cooper.
Other mannequins were Shirley Kerstner, Beverly Bates, Renie Bishop Doretta Wedin, Patricia Wallace, Kathy Bayless and JoAnn San Paolo.
Sandee Johnson was Bal Masque chairman. Mary Latta is president of Damas de Caridad.
Judging the floral headdresses were Doris Northrup, a Fullerton interior designer; W.J. Bill McGarvey of Fullerton, a longtime Damas supporter; Donald Davidson of Flintridge, a Tournament of Roses float designer; Clark Jellison of Studio City, a party decor company owner, and Charles Paap of Santa Ana, a floral designer.
Sponsors included the Anaheim Hilton and Towers, Polly’s Pies, Brown Air Conditioning, Wedin Enterprises, County Financial Service, Christopher’s Beauty Salon, the Reuben P. Hughes and Carl Karcher Enterprises.
Entertainment was provided by Lew Malin and his Sound of Music orchestra. The Cadillacs sang during intermission.
Norman Anderson, vice president of community affairs for St. Jude, was master of ceremonies. Dan Collins of Garden Grove was mannequin choreographer. Steve Stephenson of Long Beach was technical adviser. Virgil Andre of Long Beach was floral adviser.
Guests paid $125 each to attend.
