RSVP / THE SOCIAL CITY : A Girl’s Best Friend
Every lady crossing the prow on arrival at the “Buccaneer Bash” will receive a brilliant stone--and one will be a real diamond. Kidspace Museum Circle of Friends is spreading the word for its pirate paradise benefit at Twin Palms in Pasadena on Feb. 10.
The diamond will be courtesy of Asanti Jewelers. A certified gemologist will identify it on deck during the captain’s cocktail hour, according to Janice Bea, Circle of Friends president. Kidspace is a treasure itself: 100,000 children come annually for stimulating thinking and creativity.
Sally Dulin and Missy Alfieri are event co-chairs.
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Spring Fever: Couturier Bernard Perris, designer of the Jean-Louis Scherrer collection, inspired Blue Ribbon of the Music Center of Los Angeles members to think spring last week. He showed his spring couture (and six haute couture ball gowns) at a luncheon hosted by John Martens of Neiman Marcus. Unlike many events, in which the audience seems sometimes jaded, this one elicited applause.
Perris sat between author Judith Krantz and Debbie Lanni (co-chairwoman with Susan Rothenberg and Arletta Tronstein), and there wasn’t a dull moment over the chicken pies by La Cuisine and the fruit, biscuits and whipped cream. Everyone loved the cropped satin pants, tiger stripes, lavender and pink taffeta mixed with gray wool, glossy leather belts, bustiers by the dozens, boleros, white embroidered organdy jackets, pink and red georgette cocktail dresses and black dotted point d’esprit. There may be war over who gets the steel taffeta evening dress and the black pleated tulle gown. Shouldn’t Blue Ribbon’s president, Phyllis Hennegin, have dibs?
The audience was full of prominent women: Onnalee Doheny, Jean Smith, Chardee Trainer, Lenny Greenberg, Joan Aldrich, DeDe McNicholas, Pat Mirisch, Nancy Livingstone, Diane Morton, Gaby Ross, Maria Grazia Dornfield, Sandy Ausman, Joan Selwyn (who won a Scherrer dress), Carrie Ketchum and Erlenne Sprague.
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Year of Music: Hermes, the Beverly Hills boutique, and its managing director, Francine Bardo, hosted the kickoff cocktail reception to announce Los Angeles Music Center Opera’s second international wine auction April 14. The opera’s general director, Peter Hemmings, and event chairwoman Joyce Rosenblum hope to best the impressive $160,000 netted at the first wine auction in 1994. Again, the affair will be at the Biltmore.
Christie’s noted wine auctioneer, Ursula Hermacinski, will conduct the auction of vintage wines and travel and dining packages. Honorary co-chairs will be winemakers Jamie and Jack Davies, owners of Schramsberg Vineyards and Cellars; Michael Broadbent, senior director of Christie’s International Wine Department; and Madeleine Kamman, director of the School for American Chefs in St. Helena, Calif. A dozen top Los Angeles chefs and 26 vintners will participate.
Acquisitions co-chairs are David Barry, Raoul Balcaen and Carol Mancino.
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Medallion for Nancy: The Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society’s president, Fluff McLean, presented Historic Preservation Medallion No. 22 to Nancy Daly for her accomplishment in restoring Getty House, the official mayor’s residence. Mayor Richard Riordan looked on.
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Kudos: Compliments to Fred Hayman, the fashion and fragrance figure. For the eighth consecutive year, he’s been named fashion coordinator for the Academy Awards presentation March 25. He will also coordinate the academy’s pre-Oscar fashion show March 7.
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Dinosaur Heaven: Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will show backbone for the annual Dinosaur Ball on March 2. But the museum’s new jade exhibition, “Stones From Heaven: Ancient Chinese Jade,” will be the unique attraction. It opens to the public March 3 and showcases more than 400 hand-carved jade artifacts dating from the Han Dynasty.
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City in Progress: Flora Laney Thornton, widow of the late Charles B. Thornton, founder and CEO/chairman of Litton Industries, was honored at the 16th annual Ecumenical Interreligious Leadership Luncheon at the California Club. The honoree, now traveling in Indonesia, has been active and benevolent to USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (where she established a chair in preventive medicine), Saint John’s Hospital Foundation, Los Angeles Music Center Opera and the Los Angeles Public Library.
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Tony’s Magic: Tony Bennett is expected to work magic for the 34th anniversary of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on March 7. And Roseanne is starring, too. Marlo, Terre, Tony and Rose Marie Thomas are inviting guests to the Beverly Hilton for the black-tie affair benefiting the Danny Thomas Memorial Endowment Fund at the hospital. Tickets are $300 to $1,000.
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Santa Anita Racing: Arthur and Mary Crowe invited friends for luncheon and an afternoon of racing last week in the Directors’ Room of the Baldwin Club at Santa Anita Park.
Elsewhere on the Social Circuit
* Prego Ristorante in Irvine will treat the Guardian Angels of Human Options to a preview of Carnevale, the Italian version of Mardi Gras, Monday evening. Karin Lekas and Carol Liittschwager are co-chairs for the charity, which provides aid to victims of domestic violence.
* Egyptian costume is encouraged by the Norris Theatre for the Performing Arts’ Theatre Management Board’s Valentine Ball (themed “Jewel of the Nile”) on Saturday at the Torrance Marriott. “Key to Our Heart Award” honorees are Don and Trish Lange.
* Mary Lou Loper’s column is published Sundays.
