Las Floristas
Few groups let things go to their head in quite the same way as Las Floristas: elaborate floral creations, sky-high and weighing in at 30 pounds, are the crowning glory of the annual Las Floristas Headdress Ball.
The recent gala, which raised $350,000 to support Children’s Charities at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, was set in the International Ballroom at Merv Griffin’s Beverly Hilton. For the event themed “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the room was transformed into a fantasy Arden Forest.
The 10 elaborate headdresses on parade at the April 19 event were created by Southern California florists--all Rose Parade float veterans.
With the ever-escalating costs of fund-raising events, the resourceful Las Floristas, which has been staging this floral extravaganza for 64 years, struck a deal with the Muscular Dystrophy Assn.: It shared florist Chris Matsumoto’s lavish floral ballroom decor with the MDA’s benefit on the following night. The guests at the Las Floristas ball were invited to take home the spring bouquet table arrangements, but all else stayed in placed the next night.
KNX-AM (1070) radio’s Tom Hatten, a past ball host, was enlisted at zero hour when scheduled emcee Stephanie Edwards had to undergo eye surgery.
Each of the headdress creations was paraded for the more than 600 guests. Taking the sweepstakes this year was Duarte designer Frank Garcia’s “Mystical Rendezvous” worn by Kathy Wills. Runners up were “Titania, Queen of the Fairies” worn by Linda Nies and created by Modesto Busto, Michael Garcia and Eric Railer of Fountain Valley; “Dreaming of a Faraway Land,” worn by Susan Welch and designed by Barbara Kishiyama, Ernie Olson, Joyce Kirchener and Penny Knight of Cerritos; and “Orchids in the Moonlight,” a pink confection worn by Maggie Simms and made by Burbank’s Clark Jellison and Kelly Burke.
In judging in the guest headdress category (more manageable creations worn by attendees), a man took home a prize for the first time: John Greenwood sported his wife’s concoction, a tower of ivy titled “Jack and the Bean Stalk.”
Bert Boeckmann, owner of Galpin Ford, served as honorary chairman of this year’s ball. Sandy Wessel and Jade Higgins co-chaired the event committee, which included Las Floristas president Julie Pejsa.
--Patt Diroll
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Venetian Fans
A weekend-long whirl of festivities hosted by the California Chapter of Save Venice Inc. drew guests--some in elaborate period costume--from around the world in the cause of preserving some of the Italian city’s monuments. The party circuit got underway April 18 with a cocktail party at Amanda and Nick Stonington’s San Marino home, culminating April 21 with dual garden parties at the homes of Terry Stanfill and Matthew White. But the highlight of the series was the Casanova Masked Ball.
The events, organized by Ruth and Hutton Wilkinson, White and Stanfill, raised more than $150,000 for the restoration of the facade of the Scuola Giorgio degli Schivoni, a Venice landmark.
“New York was never like this!” said Save Venice board chairman Randolph Guthrie, as he surveyed the costumed partiers arriving at the California Club, where they were greeted by a battery of masked carnival figures flanking the staircase. At the top, Chinese Imperial courtiers held golden chimes mounted on bird of paradise stems. In the Grand Lounge a buff, bare-chested live Neptune was enthroned atop an atoll of seafood.
Following dinner--sea bass risotto, noisettes of lamb and vegetables prima vera--ballerinas in tutus with gondolas on their heads pirouetted around a smitten gondolier as a shower of paper rose petals fell. As the dancers exited, a troupe of African drummers and dancers burst on the scene to lead the crowd back to the Grand Lounge for desserts, games and music: The dance orchestra played on until the last of the nearly 200 guests was swept out with the rose petals at 2 a.m.
Attendees at the event, which was underwritten by Tanqueray, included Mollie and John Julius Norwich, Alice Newhouse and James Charbonnet, Bea Guthrie, Deborah David and Norman Kurland, John Loring, Barbara and Howard Brenner, Marika and Gian Luca Seguso, Thomas Schumacher, Paolo Costagli, Courtenay Eversole, Pat and Michael York, Peter Lai, Ellie Nordskog, Kathy and Bob Ray Offenhauser, Barbara and Bruce Winston, Susan and Norman Barker, Rachel and Alejandro Ortiz, Dawn Moore, Caroline Firestone, Kacey and Peter McCoy, Marie Paul Michel-Chevron and Suzanne and Fred Rheinstein.
--P.D.
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Ties to Ireland
Actor Gregory Peck and sportscaster Vin Scully, this year’s American-Ireland Fund honorees, share a common bond in their 50-year careers. They’re both incurable storytellers. “Most of all I want to be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather. But as an actor, I want to be remembered for telling a good story. That’s the most important thing,” said Peck in a video prepared by his daughter, Cecilia. The actor was sidelined with bronchitis for the April 17 dinner at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, which raised more than $200,000 for philanthropic programs throughout Ireland.
“With actors, what really counts is what kind of men they are--not the kind of men they portray. Greg is one of the finest men I’ve ever known,” said Peck’s longtime pal Charlton Heston in presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In accepting the award on Peck’s behalf, his wife, Veronique, said he “has always had ties to Ireland ... including his role in establishing Ireland’s first graduate film studies program at University College Dublin and his support of numerous arts organizations there.”
Scully, whose gift for Hibernian hyperbole has kept Dodger fans smiling since 1950, received the fund’s Hope and History Award. “He’s not just a sports announcer,” said the fund’s chief executive officer, Kingsley Aikins, in conferring the honor. “He’s a humorist, a poet and a storyteller. The son of Irish immigrants, Vin personifies the American dream.”
Clan Scully was out in force, led by Vin’s wife, Sandi, and his second cousin, Mary Freehill, the former lord mayor of Dublin, who joined Aikins in presenting the award. Other guests included Tony and Dennis Peck, Annette and Peter O’Malley, Terry and Roland Seidler and Angie Dickinson. Also there: the high steppers from the O’Connor School of Irish Dance and tenor Mark Forrest, who made some eyes moist with his “Danny Boy.”
--P.D.
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Wellness Gala
More than 300 supporters of the Wellness Community Foothills turned out for the 10th Annual Angel Gala held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on April 20 to honor this year’s Angel Award recipients for their dedication to programs for cancer patients and their families. Honored were Richard C. Gilman, president emeritus of Occidental College; Donald L. Fuchs, a founding board member; and Ruth C. Williamson, medical director of the Huntington Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, who serves on the Wellness Community’s professional advisory board. Jane Bird chaired the gala with Marjorie Rudolph, which raised more than $185,000.
--P.D.
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A Shared Cause
Stage and screen actress Nanette Fabray joined with fellow arthritis sufferers to help raise funds for services provided by the Orange County branch of the Arthritis Foundation at “Destination Paradise,” a luncheon and fashion show held at the Hilton Hotel in Costa Mesa.
As she mingled with 200 guests, Fabray, 81, confided that she has arthritric spurs at the base of her neck that can cause paralyzing pain.
“I have great admiration for this auxiliary because the women work so hard to help people with arthritis,” she said.
Proceeds of about $20,000 from the April 20 event will be used for programs and services that teach arthritis patients how to manage their pain and increase mobility.
--Ann Conway
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Eye on Visionaries
Arts visionaries were recognized at an annual awards dinner sponsored by Arts Orange County at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach.
Recognized with cultural legacy awards were Judith O’Dea Morr, vice president of the Orange County Performing Arts Center; UC Irvine professor Donald McKayle; and philanthropists John and Elizabeth Stahr.
Center president Jerry Mandel and Cynthia Harriss, president of the Disneyland Resort, were masters of ceremony at the April 18 gala, which raised about $50,000 for the organization’s arts education initiatives and grant supports for arts groups, artists and arts educators. Patricia Poss was gala chairwoman.
--A.C.
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Coming up:
* USC Town & Gown Junior Auxiliary of Los Angeles hosts its “Magical Evening” spring scholarship benefit tonight at Hollywood’s Magic Castle. Tickets: $100. Call (323) 253-0148.
* Jack Valenti and Thomas Girardi are chairing the National Italian American Foundation’s West Coast Gala honoring Nicolas Cage, Garry Marshall and Enzo Torresi on Thursday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Tickets: $250 to $1,000. Call (202) 939-3116.
* Los Amigos Council of Para Los Ninos will honor Rockard J. Delgadillo at its sixth annual Cinco de Mayo celebration Thursday at Figueroa Courtyard, downtown Los Angeles. Tickets: $175. Call (213) 623-8446, Ext. 573.
* The Women’s Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is hosting the seventh annual Los Angeles Antiques Show Gala Preview Thursday at Santa Monica Air Center’s Barker Hangar. Tickets: $250. Call (310) 423-3667.
* Pasadena Police Activities League, or PAL, will honor Sen. Jack Scott and L.A. Sparks head coach Michael Cooper at its first Golden Badge Awards dinner-dance Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa. Tickets: $350. Call (818) 784-5560.
* The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla celebrates its grand opening with an evening gala and celebrity golf tournament Friday through May 5 to benefit Project ALS. Tickets start at $5,000 per couple. Call (800) PROJ-ALS.
* Pasadena Art Alliance holds its 11th biennial art auction “Eye on Art,” benefiting visual contemporary arts in Southern California on Saturday at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. Tickets: $150. Call (626) 795-9276.
* Scripps College will mark its 75th anniversary at a gala dinner-dance Saturday on the Claremont campus. Tickets: $35. Call (909) 607-7532.
* Matt Bousquette of Mattel, Richard Baker of Ocean Pacific and Linda Platzner of Primedia will receive Otis College of Art and Design Creative Vision Awards Saturday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Tickets: $300. Call (310) 665-6858.
* Hispanics for Los Angeles Opera hosts its seventh annual Tardeada Saturday at a private home in San Marino. Tickets: $100. Call (323) 723-3654.
* The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena will stage its Kentucky Derby Day fund-raiser at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday. Tickets: $125. Call (626) 449-9100.
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Information for Social Circuits can be directed to Patt Diroll in Los Angeles or Ann Conway in Orange County. Diroll is at pattdiroll@earthlink.net; Conway at ann.conway@latimes. com, or (714) 966-5952.
