R S V P / ORANGE COUNTY : Helping Community in a Flash : ‘Picture Perfect’ Theme Is a New Angle for Assistance League Fashion Show
Assistance League of Anaheim staged a fashion show filled with lights, cameras and action for its annual Disneyland Pigskin Classic kickoff luncheon called “A Picture Perfect Fall.”
Models paraded fall fashions from stores at MainPlace/Santa Ana, while photographers pretended to snap their pictures before a crowd of 500 guests at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim on Thursday. Guests paid $55 or $100 for preferred seating to attend the luncheon, raising about $30,000 in net proceeds for league programs.
Photo Opportunity
The picture-perfect theme was a new angle for the fashion show, which in past years was more sports-minded in keeping with Disneyland’s Pigskin Classic collegiate football game Monday.
“We’re trying to do it a little different than the rah-rah college theme,” said Mary Bouas, league president. “We chose ‘Picture Perfect Fall’ because we’re trying to give more credence to the fashions.”
To carry out the picture theme, organizers called on Disney to provide a massive frame where guests could have their pictures taken with Disney characters. In the Marina Ballroom, they sat at tables adorned with gold frames set in colorful bouquets and enjoyed a lunch of breast of chicken with apricot chutney and a dessert of chocolate truffle torte and fresh fruit tart.
The fashion show that followed was all flash, featuring strobe lights, make-believe fashion photographers aiming their cameras at the runway and models in everything from golf shorts to slinky red evening gowns.
Focus on Children
Assistance League of Anaheim has 300 members and supports a variety of community services, including Operation School Bell, which provides clothing for needy elementary school children; technical aids for visually disabled students, senior citizen fellowship, dental care for children in need and Kids on the Block, an educational puppet program.
“For Operation School Bell the school nurses refer us to children who need clothes,” said Mary Simpson, event chairwoman. “It’s wonderful to see their faces light up when they receive their new outfits.” Without the program, some children would stay home because they had no presentable clothes for school.
“They come in with rubber bands holding their shoes together,” said Gloria Nepp, event co-chairwoman. “One girl came in wearing shoes that were three sizes too small.”
The league also donates teddy bears to the Anaheim police and fire departments to give to distressed children in traumatic situations.
Those who modeled in the show included Mighty Duck Terry Yake and league members Jeanne Christensen, Marlene Millard, Barbara Reed, Barbara Wade, Rose White and Fran Wiseman.
Other faces in the crowd were: Lana Snyder Devore, Bonnie Delehoy, Gloria Simmons, Marilyn McCorkle, Eleanor Dicke, Evelyn Foucher, Jeff Bowman, LaVada Moudy, Mary Franks, Eileen Pauly, Alberta Elliott, Joan Hoyt, Jimmy Sympson, Peggy Hoag, Muriel Roberts, Shirley McBurney, Theresa Pawlowski and Jane Webb.
