An upside-down winter wonderland

A few things got turned upside-down Friday evening at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Candlelight Concert -- entertainment by Kenny Loggins came before dinner, not after, and the trees, well, some were hanging tips-down from the ceiling.

But the numbers were right side up: The 29th annual benefit drew nearly 500 guests and raised more than $1 million for center operations and education programs.

Arriving guests saw Segerstrom Hall lobby transformed into a snowbank topped with snowmen and holiday trees. Pacific Chorale carolers serenaded party-goers as they sipped cocktails and sampled hors d’oeuvres whipped up by the Four Seasons Hotel for the gala, chaired by Marsha Anderson.

The concert by Loggins featured spirited versions of “Heart to Heart,” “This Is It” and”Footloose” and carols from a little-noticed holiday album he recorded two years ago. “I wanted to keep it a secret,” he joked, “so I recorded it with Columbia -- and it worked.”

After Loggins took his bow, Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” was played as the curtain rose on the gala dinner scene, a sea of inverted white holiday trees suspended over tables spread with blue chiffon and crowned with wreaths of ornaments and gold-filigree trees. The gourmet fare included herb-crusted rack of lamb and baked Alaska with brandied cherries.

Center Chairman Paul Folino welcomed the crowd with news that would keep them celebrating into the new year: In February, the center will break ground on its new concert hall, the next phase of construction in the expansion of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.