R S V P / ORANGE COUNTY : Environmental Engineering : Cystic Fibrosis Guild Drapes Noguchi Gardens to Dramatic--and Beneficial--Effect

Inspired by the artist Christo, known for his massive public artworks such as the recent wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, organizers of the Cystic Fibrosis Guild’s 12th annual gala turned their benefit into a grand-scale art installation.

With the California Scenario/Noguchi Gardens in Costa Mesa as their backdrop, guild supporters installed tall black-and-white-striped columns and canopies of sheer white fabric to create an artistic environment for more than 300 guests Saturday. The $150-per-person ticket sales, combined with proceeds from silent and live auctions and generous underwriting, netted more than $250,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Art Lives

“We chose the ‘Love Vivant’ theme because we’d be in the Noguchi Gardens--where love lives and art lives,” said Sue Hook, event chairwoman, dressed in a polka-dot blouse and full skirt that matched the black and white decor.

Guests were surrounded by art, from the garden’s contemporary sculptures to the sheets of fabric that billowed overhead.

“It’s the same material you find underneath mattress boxes,” said artist Dean Gerrie, guild vice president. “Christo, eat your heart out.”

During the reception, guests bid on masks created by children with cystic fibrosis and artists from the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art.

Later, they sat at tables artfully decorated with black ribbons draped over white cloths and bowls filled with colorful gladioli and live goldfish.

Some guests thought the fish looked nervous at the sight of the entree--rolled salmon with sun-dried tomato and pesto tomato vinaigrette.

The gourmet dinner, prepared by the catering division of the Westin South Coast Plaza, also featured filet of beef in port wine sauce and an array of desserts, from long-stemmed strawberries wearing “tuxedos” of white and dark chocolate to chocolate chip cookies.

Hopes for a Cure

The guild supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which raises money for research to find a cure for the disease, a fatal genetic disease that results in clogged lungs, infection and damaged organs.

“We didn’t know what cystic fibrosis was. We learned the hard way,” said Paul Motenko, past guild president, whose 8-year-old daughter, Stacy, has CF. “It’s a constant nightmare. You can’t tell my daughter is sick. She looks normal; she acts normal. But at home she might be up coughing all night.

“It’s a lung disease, and when she gets a cold she gets very sick. We go into high alert. It’s hard to describe the feeling when your child is sick and it’s more than a passing thing.”

Motenko and other guild members are hopeful that a cure for the disease is just a few years away. In 1989, researchers identified the cystic fibrosis gene, and in 1993 the first experimental gene therapy treatment was given to an individual with CF.

“They’re actually testing a cure. It could happen within my daughter’s lifetime,” Motenko said.

Marshall Fant received the Breath of Life award for his contributions to the guild.

“What enticed us was the optimistic view that families and children with cystic fibrosis have,” Fant said. “They see hope for the future, and they’re going to make the most out of life.”

Others attending were Kevin and Sophia Woodbridge, Barry and Jan Grumman, Ralph and Eva Mann, Pat Anderson, Joyce Topping, Mickey and Gail Isen, Barry and Myra Ross, Garth Blumenthal, Billur Wallerich, Myron and Carol Kanofsky, Bob and Nancy Myers, Anne Butcher and Karen Miller.