Arts Center Fraternity Prepares for Bash

Spouses are welcome Saturday night when the Performing Arts Fraternity--the all-male support group of the Orange County Performing Arts Center--gather for a casual barbecue at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre before watching Tony Bennett.

But come Oct. 28, fraternity members will redefine boys’ night out when they leave spouses home, don black tie and convene for their “signature event,” a “blowout gourmet dinner at the Ritz-Carlton,” says Fraternity president Larry Hoffman, chief executive officer of Hoffman Business Consultants in Irvine.

“It’s a night for male bonding,” Hoffman said. “After all, we’re a male support group, an organization of Orange County business leaders who get together to support the Center.

“Some of us may light up a cigar after dinner, and no one will be there to tell us not to. And no one will be telling us not to eat this or that because our doctor has us on a special diet. It’s a night for fellowship and camaraderie.”

Hoffman says it’s too early to tell who will attend the $100-per-plate stag night, but the group counts some heady, power-structure types among its 130 members: developer Henry T. Segerstrom, chairman of the Performing Arts Center board; Timothy Strader, vice chairman of the Center’s executive committee, and Gary Hunt, senior vice president of the Irvine Co.