The Valley Line: ‘Dodo Bird Flight School’ given wings with help from Rose Court
“Come Fly with Us” was the theme of last Sunday’s La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Assn.‘s annual “An Evening of Wine and Roses” fundraiser.
I had to chuckle at the evening’s theme, which was a clever nod to January’s LCF float “Dodo Bird Flight School.”
Under the direction of event chair Nancy Wolhaupter, the gathering at La Cañada Flintridge Country Club did take wing very successfully and beautifully. The more than 120 guests were in a festive mood and dressed accordingly.
“The people scrubbed up pretty good,” Wolhaupter said, with a warm laugh.
While appetizers and cocktails were served, guests stopped at the photo op site for a memory of the evening. They also bid on a wide array of silent auction items.
When the dinner bell sounded, guests were seated for the main event of the night — the introduction of the 2020 Rose Queen Camille Kennedy and Princesses Cole Fox, Emilie Risha, Rukan Saif, Reese Rosenthal Saporito, Mia Thorsen and Michael Wilkins. Escorting the Rose Queen was Mike Davitt, president of the LCFTRA and member of the LCF City Council. Tournament members Charles Thuss, Michael Freed, Joe Thompson, Greg Brown, Jon Curtis and Mike Leininger escorted the princesses.
After the court was introduced and they told us a little bit about themselves, they and their escorts stopped at each dining table to chat and hand out little adhesive roses guests could wear home as souvenirs of the occasion.
The always affable Chuck Terhune served as emcee. It was a momentous occasion when Terhune presented Peter Bachmann, headmaster of Flintridge Prep, with an impressive award honoring the school’s partnership in sharing its parking lot for the building of our float every December since 1978.
An exciting part of the evening came with the live auction of seven wonderful opportunities, including a one-night getaway at the beautiful For Friends Inn, a country bed and breakfast in Santa Ynez, the heart of Santa Barbara’s wine country.
There were other great things to bid on as well, such as a “Green Room” pass for a live taping of the Jimmy Kimmel Show, a night of tacos and tunes for 30 friends with music by Misplaced Priorities and Los Gringos Locos Restaurant. Another fun opportunity was a three-hour luncheon cruise or fishing expedition on board the “Cold Pizza II” with captain Len Pieroni, our current mayor.
The auction was a great moneymaker for the construction of our float. In fact more money was raised at this year’s Wine and Roses, surpassing last year’s number. Congratulations!
Jason Clay provided music for the evening. Nancy and John Wolhaupter had the last dance of the evening to a beautiful rendition of “Unforgettable.”