Parrots, Palms and Reggae Equal $14,000 for Museum

The theme du jour at the Pacific Club on Saturday--where the everyday motifs are power, money and status--was Caribbean. Hence: caged parrots, palm fronds, reggae music.

While the island trappings put a lively veneer on the club’s antiques-and-Oriental-rugs decor, good old power, money and status weren’t exactly banished from the scene.

“Casino Caribe,” as the $75-per-person fete was dubbed, was the first party tossed by the Exhibitionists, a new support group of the Laguna Art Museum. Shy as limbo dancers, you say? “I’m not an Exhibitionist, I’m a flasher! “ chirped Paula Sherman, a benefit committee member.

“I’m a voyeur, myself,” said Sherman’s son, Thomas, plucking a raspberry from the buffet.

Guests arrived for their first glasses of “Snakebite Punch” (silver tureen, inflatable rattler) at 7 p.m., some dressed in tasteful party basics, others in colorfully thematic duds. Hot pink, lemon and orange--the colors of the tablecloths, balloons and caged birds--prevailed with the sartorial wild bunch.

Nadine Hall wore a bright floral-print silk dress and a sprig of yellow freesias in her hair. Of her spangly shoulder-length earrings she said, “Bought at our museum shop in South Coast Plaza. That’s all that matters, right?”

All that mattered to party chairwoman Anne Cusic was “keeping everyone involved and having fun. We want a party that works as a party, not just as a fund-raiser.”

To that end, there were gambling tables, glorious foods (corn cakes with bay shrimp and salsa, chicken curry, roast pork loin, black beans and rice), and the Trinidad Islanders Steel Band. Arriba!

Debi Bremner, president of the new support group, said the Exhibitionists plan to underwrite one exhibition a year, beginning with the Jay DeFeo show in July.

She said the 25-member group will divide its time between fund-raising projects and art-education activities.

Also attending the benefit, which netted about $14,000, were Dorothy and Don Bendetti, Teri and John Kennady, Joni and Gerry Harvey, Claire and Mac Burt, Marla and Ken Bird, Lauri and Mike Mendenhall, Ann Summers and Julie Pleso.

What else was happening in South County on Saturday night?

The Capistrano Committee of the Orange County Philharmonic Society hosted “A Night of Musical Trivial Pursuit,” drawing 130 guests to the Mission Viejo Country Club and raising $6,000 for OCPS youth programs.

The benefit started with cocktails and silent auction browsing, followed by dinner of stuffed game hen and a concert by the swing band Vocalworks.

Greeting guests at the door were Ruth McKeown and Robin Nelson, co-chairwomen of the support group. Each had a shopping bag of raffle tickets slung over one arm and a white balloon emblazoned with musical notes bobbing overhead.

“If this (party) works, we might do it again next year,” said McKeown.

Nelson said the Capistrano Committee--whose members live in San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente and Dana Point--had experimented with various themes.

The highlight of the fund-raiser was an after-dinner, brain-teasing game of trivial pursuit. K.J. Cabodi read questions from the stage and each table confabbed to produce one answer.

Questions ranged from the arcane--”What river was Handel’s ‘Water Music’ first played on?”--to the ridiculous: “Which Beatle noted: ‘I love Beethoven, especially his poems’?”

“We were a little worried about getting too deep into rock and roll,” said Cyndi Laxson, who co-wrote the queries with Jadzia McDonough. “It was tempting for us because (Jadzia and I) are maybe a little bit younger than the rest of the group.”

At the winning table were Darrolyn Fennelly and Perry Carter, Jane Fennelly and David Rachuy, Martha and Roger Ciampa, Glenn Laxson, Gina Brennan and Barbara Brennan.

Laxson, McDonough and Lisa Cabodi were chairwomen of the event.

The Carousel chapter of the Guilds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center drew a sold-out crowd to the Hop in El Toro on Sunday night for burgers and fries in T-shirts and jeans--a comfort-oriented party in a black-tie world.

The 260 guests who paid $85 per donned white T-shirts (decorated with a boogieing bunny in red jacket and shades) provided by the chapter. Entertainment included a buffet loaded with Fifties’ fast food, dancing to DJ-ed tunes, and awards to the coolest of the spiffed-up T-shirts. (Patty and Mark Canright of Laguna Niguel won “Most Authentic” for their leather jackets and tight jeans; Newport Beach resident Carol Ryan won “Most Original” for an outfit that included a fluffy white bunny mask and black spike heels.)

The benefit, co-chaired by Janice Markley and Julie Wilson, raised about $20,000.