Shoppers Drop Dollars Into Charity : Benefit Bazaar
Twenty-three vendors opened shop in the Balboa Bay Club’s main banquet hall Tuesday and Wednesday to help raise money for the Assessment and Treatment Services Center, a nonprofit juvenile counseling program based in Santa Ana. The sixth annual Shop Till You Drop--hosted by the Sophisticates, a support group for ATSC--drew an estimated 600 guests and raised about $15,000, according to chairwoman Nancy Weisbrod.
Sublime/Bizarre
The goods on display for the ladies-who-charge-it ran the gamut from rhinestone-encrusted baseball caps and bleached jeans to stuffed animals, picture frames, decorator plates and fancy eyeglasses. In one corner, Corona del Mar shopkeeper Estelle Nezel showed handbags by Helene Angeli (whose work has been shown in the Louvre in Paris) and designer hats from Europe and London, including several by Frederick Fox (whose hat label reads: “Milliner of the Royal Family”). Around the booths from Nezel’s place was “Lorraine’s,” with clothes from the store of the same name in Corona del Mar owned by Lorraine Benson. There, for a Gold Coaster who dared, was a jeweled bustier with pheasant feathers covering the cups and a huge stone scarab nestled between. By far the most popular booth, and also possibly the largest, was Joyce King’s display cases full of faux jewelry. King, a Corona del Mar interior designer, brings her glittery goodies to about six charities per year “for the fun,” she said, “because so many of my clients are friends. And also, this is my way of doing something for the community.” Vendors donated 12% of their take to ATSC.
Ogling
Society page regulars, distaff side, make the annual pilgrimage to this benefit to pick up the baubles and bangles they’ll need for the next round of parties. Tina Schafnitz, for one, has it down to a science. “What we do is, first we do a lap (around the room) to see what’s here,” said Schafnitz, rounding the first corner with Monica Deemer, whose husband, Tom, is president of the Balboa Bay Club. “After we’ve checked it out, then we decide where we’re going to disburse the funds. It’s kinda like a business!” For her part, Deemer said she loved to shop with Schafnitz because “she makes me buy things I would never buy--wilder things--and when I get home I’m so glad I did!”
Refueling
To prevent shoppers from actually dropping (or, almost as bad, leaving), the Sophisticates set up buffets for lunch both days and dinner on Tuesday. For an additional $10 to $13--the door charge was $5--guests could fill their plates from a tostada bar or salad bar for lunch, and a pasta bar for dinner. If that sounds light ‘n’ lean, it’s supposed to. “None of these women eat a lot,” Weisbrod said with a smile. “They’re always on diets.”
Quote
Out on the patio, in the shade of a blue table umbrella, Chris Lindsay and Muriel Sheets dug into their tostada salads. Between them lay a bag full of belts and accessories Sheets had purchased. “And we just bought a whole bunch of raffle tickets,” Lindsay said, plucking a yard of tickets from the shopping bag. What did they hope to win in the raffle? “I don’t have any idea what they’re raffling,” Lindsay said, laughing. “You know--it’s for charity. You just hand out the money and you don’t ask questions.”
