Arts Center’s Carousel Chapter Hops to South American Beat

Blame it on Rio. The “Ba Ba Reeba” bash tossed by the Carousel chapter of the Performing Arts Center Saturday night had grown men wearing banana-boat earrings and downing passion punch like there was no manana.

“Borrowed ‘em from my 10-year-old daughter,” said Don Gilmore of the plastic clump of fruit that swung from his right earlobe. “Naw, they’re not pierced. Clip-on’s are as far as I go.” Gilmore’s tropical chic silhouette--the suggested dress code--included a debonair Panama hat.

While most of the 250 guests punctuated their night at South Coast Plaza with shouts of “Ba Ba Reeba,” no one--not even the chairwomen--knew what the flip phrase meant. “It’s the name of a restaurant in Chicago,” said Pam Ramsaier, co-chairman. “I saw it in a magazine and loved the sound.”

The wail of a steel-drum band greeted guests as they entered the Plaza’s Jewel Court area. A ride down an escalator brought them to a “Rio nightclub” conceived by decorations chairman Diana Bromiley. Bigger-than-life stills of a grinning Carmen Miranda sat beneath drops of brightly colored cloth. Twinkle lights winked from towering trees. And white-skirted tables were set with Bromiley’s magnum opus-- bamboo poles, cut and tied with raffia, formed a perch for neon-colored parrots.

“We bargained for those (artificial birds) in Tijuana while a man (nearby) opened and closed a switch-blade knife,” Bromiley said. “What we won’t do for the Center!”

Tropical fare included the heady passion punch--a blend of three rums with lime, orange and pineapple juices--and chicken stewed with pomegranate and hibiscus petals.

Guests were barely into the sauce when the R’Wanda Lewis Dance Company presented a Caribbean show. A demonstration of bongo drums, the limbo (which included a brave attempt by Carousel president Anne Reese and husband Bob) and a conga-line finale were all part of one of the hottest shows to hit the charity circuit this year. During the fun, a Carmen Miranda look-alike slinked among guests, shouting: “Ba ba reeba! I’m Carmen on the veranda!”

Said Ramsaier of the Rio theme: “Our chapter’s benefits are going around the world. Two years ago we had a French-themed party. Last year’s was Italian. And this year we thought South American would be fun. We’re a casual group. We seem to have more fun when we’re not in black-tie.”

Missing from the annual event was its customary silent auction. “We decided to go with a souvenir program instead,” Ramsaier said. “Each member was responsible for selling one ad. With the new tax structures, it seemed to be a good way for people to get something for their donation. A business ad for charity is a tax write-off. When you’re out there asking for money, it’s hard to get the dollar. Telling a donor his name will be in print makes it easier to justify.”

Ramsaier said program proceeds were $10,000. Overall proceeds from the event were $30,000. Sheila Collins co-chaired it. Assisting were Jo Corbette, Sue Orth, Bromiley, Reese and Cindy Armstrong.

On the same night, an intimate benefit unfolded across town at La Roca, the Newport Beach manse of Pilar Wayne, former wife of actor John Wayne.

About 15 women--all members of Cover Girls, a support group of the Center Dance Alliance--had congregated with spouses or escorts to dine on spinach strudel and breast of chicken gorged with apricots and corn-bread stuffing.

The goal of the Center Dance Alliance is to help subsidize dance in Orange County. Cover Girl Patty Brennan is vice president of the group. Explaining the philosophy of the Cover Girls, president JoAnne Mix, gowned in a bubble dress, said: “Our members must have appeared on the cover of an Orange County publication. I’ve been on the Daily Pilot’s Style cover, the cover of Orange County Magazine and the cover of Image in the (Orange County) Register.”

Mix said the group allows women of similar backgrounds to “network, chat, help ballet.”

The sophisticated party had but one hitch. Its hostess was unable to attend. “Pilar’s in Washington, D.C., helping her son-in-law, a doctor, accept some kind of award,” Mix said.

Proceeds from the $125-per-couple affair would go into the coffers of Cover Girls, said Mix. “We’re going to give the Center Dance Alliance one big check in December.”

Among the Cover Girls were Barbara Freundt, Emma Jane Riley, Kit Toth, Hedda Marosi, Rusty Hood, Nora Jorgensen, Dori deKruif, Ann Stern, Mary Ann Miller, Martha Green, Virginia Bender, Lois Cannon, Bari Tulving, Ann Pange, Ollie Hill and Linda McLain.