They’re All Ears at Disney’s Benefit

During a week of benefit preview parties, the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim celebrated another milestone Wednesday: the first gala staged at its new Grand Californian Hotel since it opened to the public earlier this month.

Disneyland Resort President Cynthia Harriss received the Tree of Life award from the Jewish National Fund at the $500-ticket event, which raised $250,000 to help alleviate the water crisis in Israel.

The romantic, Craftsman-style hotel, built to resemble a luxurious mountain lodge, is taking its place beside the classic Disneyland Hotel as a major fund-raising venue in North County.

“We’re already becoming a popular place for charity events,” hotel general manager Tony Bruno said. “What’s new is hot and what’s old is not. This is the hot spot.”

Guests dined on a kosher meal prepared by chef Jon Anderson (formerly banquet chef at the famed Auberge du Soleil in Napa) in a handsome ballroom paneled in redwood and lit with multi-hued glass chandeliers.

The hotel’s Brisa Courtyard, Napa Rose restaurant and fifth floor Park View Terrace are also available for parties, Bruno said.

The resort’s Downtown Disney District--which opened last week with a bash for the Santa Monica-based Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation--also features locales expected to become popular with Orange County’s charity set.

Joaquim Splichal’s chic Catal restaurant, for example, was the site of an opening-night reception for about 300 people, including Disney chief Michael Eisner and actor Sly Stallone.

The 36,000-square-foot ESPN Zone, a dining and entertainment complex, is a favorite spot for sports-related events across the country. It also expects to participate in the local charity sports scene, a spokesman said.

With the zone’s 30-foot Xtreme Glacier Rock Wall (for climbing, of course) and its 10,000-square feet of interactive attractions, it’s sure to become another party hot spot.

At the opening night benefit for the Glaser foundation, zone corporate chef Derek Rettell created a confectionery delight that has become one of his trademarks: a “Willy Wonka Table” heaped with thousands of candies. “People love it because, when they see it, they feel like kids again,” Rettell said.

The resort previewed Disney’s California Adventure on Monday with a fund-raiser for Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

About 11,000 people paid $50 each--with corporations paying $500 and more to underwrite special tour packages--to ride on everything from the California Screamin’ roller coaster to the Maliboomer, a jet-lift that catapults passengers up 180 feet in two seconds.

“It was a fantastic event,” said Jeffrey Wilcox, executive director for the CHOC Foundation for Children. “We expect proceeds to be nearly $600,000.”

Physicians and members of the hospital’s Guilds support group joined with children and parents to see the park. “The lines weren’t too bad,” Wilcox said. “The park can accommodate 40,000 people.”

CHOC will recognize the Disneyland Resort for “outstanding corporate philanthropy” Jan. 25 during its annual Charlie Awards gala at the Santa Ana Country Club.

Celebrating Royalty

Artistic glassworks not only crowned the dining tables at the “Royal Celebration” benefit for the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art on Saturday, they helped boost event proceeds.

About 300 guests had the option of purchasing the pieces by Chinese artist Loretta Yang--priced from $1,500 to $4,500--during the fund-raiser at the Four Seasons hotel in Newport Beach.

“I bought one and others did too,” said Janice Smith, gala co-chairwoman with Dee Dee Anderson Poiry. “It helped us raise $250,000.” The proceeds will be used to support the Santa Ana-based museum’s public education programs.

Yang’s works will be showcased at the exhibit, “Trilogy of Glasswork: Ancient Rome, Chihuly and Yang,” opening at the museum Feb. 24.

“We’re bringing ancient traditions and contemporary art together at the exhibit,” museum President Peter Keller said. “People will see the ancient Roman art of glass blowing, which inspired Chihuly, and the other ancient tradition of glass casting, which Yang has taken to a new art form.”

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Ann Conway can be reached at (714) 966-5952 or by e-mail at https://ann.conway@latimes.com.