Models Top Off Charity Affair : Bal Masque, Mannequins Raise $75,000 to Benefit St. Jude
Heady.
Damas de Caridad, a support group for St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fullerton, held its 29th Bal Masque at the Anaheim Marriott on Saturday, drawing 750 guests at $150 each and raising an estimated $75,000.
The highlight of the benefit--which this year honored Damas founder Marcy Mulville--was the annual stage show in which support group members model elaborate headgear designed by local florists.
They call it a “presentation of mannequins.” It looks like a cabaret act crossed with the Rose Parade--the floats, in this case, riding atop the models’ heads.
The stylized masks worn in bygone years have evolved into Gargantuan customized headdresses that weigh up to 30 pounds each and are secured with a skull cap, metal back brace and support girdle.
Between the cocktail hour and dinner, eight Damas mannequins were trussed into their costumes and sent on stage solo to entertain for the duration of one song.
Some lip-synched--such as microphone-wielding Jan Brown, who gave the hooting black-tie crowd an animated impression of Liza Minnelli belting out “New York, New York.” Others simply toured the stage and paraded down a ramp that divided the huge ballroom. The top prize went to Sandy Pearson, bedecked in a droop-jawed dragon designed by Modesto Buston.
Also modeling were Polly Hairebedian, Louise Stewardson, Janny Catlin, Nancy Dahl, Karen Gallio and Ardie Davis.
Ball chairwoman Ann Harvey attributed this year’s “significant increase in attendance” to honoree Mulville--the first person ever honored by the group.
“Marcy’s extra measure of caring has touched the lives of many,” Harvey told the guests. She called Mulville “a guiding light” for many local philanthropies, and said those who had worked with Mulville know she is “capable of another level of illumination--she can be a firecracker!”
Emcee duties fell to Bernardo Yorba, a member of one of Orange County’s founding families. Also attending were state Sens. Marian Bergson (R-Newport Beach), John SeymourCQ (R-Anaheim) and Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim); Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez; Paul Viviano, president of St. Jude; Joyce Weiss, president of Damas de Caridad, and Louis Spisto, executive director of the Pacific Symphony.
Damas de Caridad (Ladies of Charity) has donated more than $1 million to St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center since its first fund-raiser in 1962. Proceeds from Saturday night will be used to complete the pediatric treatment room in the emergency department.
Hot CHOC: Three times was the charm.
The Guilds of Childrens Hospital of Orange County tossed a fashion show thrice--for sold-out luncheon crowds on Thursday and Friday and a black-tie dinner party on Friday night--raising a whopping $225,000 in proceeds, according to Guild Director Helen Wardner.
The black-and-white-themed “Uptown Rhapsody” benefits, which were priced at $45 for the luncheons and $75 for the “grand finale,” drew more than 3,000 guests to the Anaheim Marriott.
Designed by Saks Fifth Avenue at South Coast Plaza, the fast-paced fashion show mixed ‘40s sights and sounds with modern touches.
“Our objective was (to be) upbeat,” said Billur Wallerich, Saks fashion director and producer of the show. “I thought, ‘Uptown, upbeat, up, up, up!’ ”
Down, down, down the runway they came--models, tap-dancers, hip-hoppers, even a pair of Dalmatians.
“My husband came to the show yesterday,” said Anne Neish, general chairwoman of the benefits, during cocktail hour Friday. “He said it was like a double show: one show onstage and the other show out in the audience--all these women!”
Andrea Northcote, who chaired the finale, said, “It isn’t about fashion as much as just entertainment.”
“It’s theater,” said Peter Ochs, whose development company, the Fieldstone Co., underwrote the two-day extravaganza with Marilyn and Donald Bailey.
The Friday night guests sipped cocktails while a band played retro classics such as “Stardust” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”
Among those guests who sat at the mirror-topped tables for the dinner show were: Helen Wardner, director of the 14 hospital guilds; Howard Jones, chairman of the CHOC board of directors; Thomas Penn Jones, CHOC president and CEO; and guild presidents Carol Nex, Jeanne Zenk, Sharron Ribacchi, Lori Rutherford, Jane Mills, Fran Hill, Marne Henstridge, Marlys Lano and Karen Pepper.
