Hoags Will Christen Cancer Center to Launch a Gala-Filled September
The diamonds or the aquamarines?
Patty Hoag hasn’t decided which gems she’ll sport at the gala opening on Saturday of the Patty and George Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach, an event that’s sure to be the social highlight of her life.
But one thing she knows for sure. Her gala gown--a cloud of aqua-blue chiffon with a shimmering bodice--will be one she has worn before.
“I’m wearing a dress that’s not new, and I don’t care!” said Patty, laughing. “I don’t believe in wearing a gown only once.”
As for George, he’ll don one of two tuxedos he keeps on standby. “You always have to have an extra for George,” Patty said, starting to giggle again. “Once he got all dressed up and went into the garage to mix some paint with one of those automatic shakers. The top was off the can, and he ended up with paint all over his tuxedo.”
Patty Hoag--a beloved member of Newport Beach’s old guard society--is always finding something to chortle about, even after years of battling cancer.
“You can beat anything in the world if you have a positive attitude,” Patty said during a recent visit to the new center with her husband. “I’m fine now. But when you first learn you have cancer, you cry so much you almost wash your eyes out. Then you decide not to cry anymore. You say to yourself: ‘It’s time to go to the doctors and nurses who can help me get well.’ ”
Enter the new Patty and George Hoag Cancer Center, the largest free-standing outpatient cancer treatment center in Orange County.
“It’s a center of excellence,” said George, who has served on the board of Hoag Hospital for 40 years. Does his dream for the center include international recognition? “My dream for the center is simply that it take care of the people of Orange County,” said George, who is waging his own war against skin cancer.
George chalks up the creation of the center to the generosity of the people of Orange County. “I’m so tired of hearing that the Orange County community doesn’t give,” he said. “Orange County is very generous.”
The Hoags will be the superstars of the soiree with an “Arabian Nights” theme that will have 700 guests dining and dancing in a cavernous “sultan’s” tent. Also up for merrymaking: a sheik atop an Arabian stallion, belly dancers, magicians, and a menu to diet for--filet of beef with bordelaise sauce and chicken breast with sesame seed sauce. The piece de resistance ? Well, besides the guest list ( everybody who is anybody in Newport Beach), party organizers promise an “Arabian chocolate fantasy”--white chocolate mousse cheesecake with raspberry sauce and fresh mint.
The much anticipated opening of the Hoag Cancer Center is one of a slew of A-parties that is making September Orange County’s most glitz-filled month ever .
For years, the gala staged by South Coast Repertory was September’s only game in town. It launched Orange County’s social season.
This year, SCR’s elegant gala--”Theatre Internationale”--falls on Sept. 15, one week after the Hoag splash and six days after Opera Pacific’s gala opening of the new Chanel boutique at South Coast Plaza. Not to mention the fact that the Laguna Art Museum christens its “Perspectives” party series at Deeanne and Al Baldwin’s Emerald Bay digs the same night as the Chanel opening. (Whew. So many galas, so little time.)
To make stepping out even more harried for party worshipers, the SCR gala occurs the same weekend that the Waterfront Hilton in Huntington Beach has planned gala openings to benefit Children’s Hospital of Orange County and the Orange County Philharmonic Society.
Plus , three days after the SCR bash, the Guilds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center stages its first “The Center of Fashion,” a sartorial parade showcasing local lovelies--more than 100 of them--on stage in Segerstrom Hall wearing $1.5 million worth of creations from local merchants such as Saks Fifth Ave, Neiman Marcus, Chanel, and Polo Ralph Lauren.
Co-sponsored by Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza, the two-act extravaganza, produced by Carlton Burnett (you’ve seen the polished “Debut” show he stages annually for the Huntington Harbour Cancer League), will feature couture creations from Paris, multiple set changes, lasers and dancers.
The featured designer of the afternoon affair (at a party-scene stealing $10 to $75 per ticket) is Bill Travilla, who did the costuming for 11 Marilyn Monroe films.
A special bonus: Since the fashion show begins at 2:30 p.m., participating restaurants in Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza are offering discounts for lunches. A champagne reception in the Center lobby begins at 1:30 p.m. Showtime is 2:30 p.m.
