Center 500 Cures Its Summertime Blues

More than 400 people got a cure for the blues last week when the Center 500 support group for the Orange County Performing Arts Center staged its first-ever “Hot Blues on a Cool Summer Night” benefit.

The evening of music and gourmet food took place at the South Coast Plaza Village courtyard in Santa Ana. Guests paid $20 each to attend, raising $4,500 for the center.

Singing the Blues

Bringing in the blues was the brainchild of event chairwoman Melinda Morgan, who wanted an alternative to the many jazz-related events in Orange County (Center 500’s own jazzy event, “White Linen & Jazz,” takes place Sept. 12 at the Hyatt Newporter in Newport Beach).

“I’m a big blues fan, and it’s hard to find really good blues in Orange County,” Morgan said. “When I found out about this blues band, it just all came together.”

“Queen of the Blues” Ms. Charlie Jene and the Champion Allstars band performed blues classics.

Food stations served specialties from the village restaurants, including smoked turkey and mozzarella on focaccia from Antonello Ristorante, rigatoni with spinach and ground lamb from Gandhi Indian Cuisine, shrimp and lox sandwiches from Gustaf Anders, “ebony and ivory” brownies from Planet Hollywood and Jamaican jerk chicken from the Village Farmer.

Up and Coming

Center 500 actually numbers about 350 members, most of them young professionals.

“These are bright, energetic people who are committed to the arts,” said Rich Steinhoff, president of Center 500. “They’re the establishment-in-waiting and on their way up.”

Members pay $250 a year to join the group and raise about $100,000 annually for the center.

“This is a relatively inexpensive way for people interested in the arts to participate,” said Rich Barden, Center 500 board member and chairman of the upcoming White Linen event. “We’re trying to cultivate the heavy-hitters of the future.”

Among the future heavy-hitters were: John Altstadt, Tom Bayles, Christine Bozley, Gordon Currie, Kathleen Green, Judy Johnson, Nancy Mains, Michael McQueeney, Liz Polo, Jan Roberts, Susan Stebbins and Richard and Linda Ward.