Bountiful Harvest at Garden Party
A waterfront property that was once home to silver-screen icon Charlie Chaplin set the stage for one of the most stylish garden parties ever to hit Orange County’s charity scene.
Held Tuesday at the Laguna Beach
estate of entrepreneurs Duane and Kelly Roberts, the alfresco bash honored underwriters of an upcoming benefit for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.
Members of the Harvesters, a support group of the food bank, welcomed about 100 guests, each of whom had donated a minimum of $1,000 to attend the twilight affair.
“This is our most successful underwriting party ever--we’re just shy of $200,000,” said Sherry Abbott, underwriting chairwoman for the benefit luncheon Oct. 14 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach. “This beautiful location helped make the difference.”
Not to mention Kelly Roberts herself. A willowy former model whose entrepreneurial husband--”he developed the first frozen burrito,” she said--was too swamped with work to attend the party, Roberts is making a name for herself in fund-raising circles.
Besides opening her home’s French floral garden to Orange County charities, she and Duane regularly stage political fund-raisers at the historic hotel they own--the Mission Inn in Riverside.
Their most recent power-party: a $1,000 ticket fund-raiser for Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush attended by 300 people.
“It was the biggest [Republican] fund-raiser for the Inland Empire,” she said.
Dressed in a stylish fall ensemble by Christian Dior--chocolate fox boa over a skirt and sweater--Roberts moved gracefully among guests, welcoming them to her lush garden by the sea.
Underwriters sipped martinis and sampled appetizers catered by the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills as they explored the bloom-dotted landscape.
On view, besides a fashion show staged by Gucci at South Coast Plaza: a floral fantasy featuring 70 dozen pale lavender cymbidium
orchids flown in from New Zealand. Garlands of white tulips framed everything from the home’s entry to the paths once trod by the Little Tramp.
“At the height of his career, Chaplin had a home here,” explained Ruben Flores, a landscape architect from Laguna Beach, who, besides working for the Robertses, has designed garden environments for Frank Sinatra and Dionne Warwick.
Roberts was delighted to open her property to a cause that helps feed Orange County’s hungry, she said. “Those of us who have enough to eat need to look out for those who don’t. And that’s what the Harvesters are all about.”
Added Abbott: “One out of six Oange County families goes hungry at the end of each month. Our goal is to eliminate hunger in our own backyard.”
For information on the benefit luncheon: (714) 771-1343.
Saluting a maestro
On the occasion of his 10th anniversary with the Pacific Symphony, music director Carl St.Clair was honored at a benefit luncheon Wednesday at the Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach.
Sponsored by the Pacific Symphony League, the event featured salutes to St.Clair by Douglas Freeman, PSO board chairman; John Forsyte, executive director; and Mark Mandarano, assistant conductor.
“Carl St.Clair’s primary gift to the orchestra is the excellence of our artistic product,” Forsyte said. “In 10 years, the PSO has ascended to a place that is enviable among orchestras of its size in the nation.
“When you combine that with the personable human being that Carl is--the way he touches people--it’s an incredibly potent combination.”
St.Clair, who attended the event with his wife, Susan, called his decade with the orchestra “some of the most rewarding years of my life.
“My life here in Orange County has been a wonderful chapter with many great things shared with the community. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
An astronomical affair
With an evening sky streaked by the contrail from a missile launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, hundreds of guests swept into the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana on Saturday for a black-tie benefit that netted $160,000.
“Did you see our missile launch?” gala chairwoman Catherine Thyen asked arriving guests. “We’re taking all the credit we can--after all, we’re about science here.”
Indeed. Guests tried their hand at museum exhibits such as the Cockpit Simulator and the Cloud Ring Maker as they sipped cocktails at the annual benefit.
Since it opened a year ago, 70,000 children have visited the center--15% of them at no cost. “We pay for their transportation and admission,” center president Karen Johnson said.
After the cocktail reception, guests sat at tables topped with ice sculptures in the shape of pyramids. Nearby: the center’s Stream Table exhibit, featuring examples of soil erosion and water flow.
“We wanted our guests to get the feel of our science center,” explained Olivia Johnson, a member of the gala committee.
Also on the party agenda: a salute to the Boeing Co., donor of $25,000 to the center.
Guest list: Rob Kent, chairman of the center board; John and Donna Crean; Mark and Barbara Johnson; Delane Thyen; Dee and Larry Higby; and Arnold Beckman.
If you missed the bash, not to worry: The center launches its Adults Night Out events in January. “Quarterly, we’re going to have some wonderful evenings for adults featuring our interactive exhibits, science lectures and entertainment,” Johnson said.
Other science center events: “Wizard of Ooze,” a Halloween show, Oct. 15-Dec. 15; and Computer Camp, Dec. 27-31. For information: (714) 542-CUBE.
