A Day for Shopping, a Night for Jazz
Katie Clark knew right where to do her holiday shopping.
With a practiced eye and a generous heart, she wended her way last week through tables set with homemade fudge, freshly baked breads, candied nuts, and one-of-a-kind craft pieces.
Her reward at the boutique benefiting Childhelp USA: a handmade, ceramic platter and an assortment of homemade goodies from an area labeled Santa’s Kitchen.
“You don’t see things like this anywhere else,” Clark said, holding up the prized platter during the festivities at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. “They are often donated by artists. And you don’t even think about the cost. These are wonderful items for a wonderful cause--children!”
More than 700 women paid $40 each to attend the annual “Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child” boutique and luncheon, which netted about $60,000 for Village of Childhelp, an 80-bed care and treatment facility for abused children in Beaumont.
“The holidays are about being loved--being part of a loving family,” said Karen Cole, event chairwoman. “Sadly, not all children have that. That is why we’re here.”
The incidence of child abuse can increase during the holidays, noted Tom Alexander, director of the Beaumont facility. “It is a stressful time,” he said. “People need to remember what the holidays are really about--coming together as a family, not providing kids with every gift they want.”
What children really need is “consistency and security all year round,” Alexander said. “That’s what we give the children at Beaumont. We try to offer them that island of confidence that will serve them as they grow up.”
The No. 1 cause of child abuse is “previous child abuse,” explained Alexander. “It is a generational thing. The way to stop the cycle is through intervention.
“And that’s part of what the village is about,” he said. “If we can intervene with the 80 children we have, teach them proper ways of parenting, hopefully they will not abuse their children.”
If you see a child being abused, don’t look the other way, Alexander advises. “Speak up--be assertive. Don’t be afraid to intervene or confront,” he said. Or to report an incident. “Child abuse is a problem that belongs to all of us.”
Also among guests was Helen Circle, a charter member of the Orange County Chapter of Childhelp USA. She recalled the first holiday boutique--in the early ‘70s--when 25 women came together for an auction, bringing items they had selected from their own homes.
“When I look back--it was pretty crummy,” Circle said, laughing. “Some of us brought things we wanted to get rid of. But look at us now. I am very proud.”
Chapter President Patti Edwards, wife of Edwards Theater scion James Edwards III, said Child help has other fund-raising irons in the fire. “Cirque du Soleil opens at the Orange County Fairgrounds on Jan. 30 with a benefit for Childhelp--we get to sell every seat in the tent,” she said. Arts philanthropist Henry Segerstrom is honorary chairman of the party preceding the benefit.
Also on the Childhelp calendar: a 50th birthday bash on Feb. 1 at the Disneyland Hotel for KFI talk-radio personality Laura Schlessinger. “On her radio show, Dr. Laura is inviting 2,000 friends to join her at the party,” said Edwards, who is helping Schlessinger and her husband, Lew Bishop, plan the ‘50s-themed affair. “At $75 each, all net proceeds will go to Childhelp.”
*
Candlelight Concert: It began in a 10-cent store. Since then it has been held everywhere from a hotel ballroom to the Pond in Anaheim.
But on Friday night the 23rd Candlelight Concert made its first trip home--to the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
More than 400 guests sipped champagne and shared holiday greetings on the center’s Plaza Level before enjoying a concert by jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli in Segerstrom Hall.
Afterward, the curtain went up on one of the most dramatic dining scenes ever to hit an Orange County gala: The stage area had been transformed into a snowy winter garden, complete with star-studded midnight sky, a sliver of a moon and tables topped with white blooms and branches.
“We’ve come a long way from that first ‘million-dollar concert in a 10-cent store,’ ” noted Judith Morr, the center’s acting chief operating officer.
Gala chairwoman Barbara Glabman worked with co-chairwoman Robin Turner to create the party scene where guests dined on New York steaks sprinkled with Roquefort cheese and chocolate souffles embellished with candied walnuts and fresh raspberries.
“We tried to create an elegant winter garden setting,” said Glabman, whose husband Jim is owner of Glabman Furniture. “I love dining in a garden--in California we can do it all year round.”
Jazz guitarist Pizzarelli--who looks like JFK Jr. and has the smooth and easy singing style of Harry Connick Jr.--charmed the crowd with his interpretations of Gershwin classics and holiday favorites.
With Ray Kennedy on piano and his brother Martin Pizzarelli on bass, he opened the set with “I’ve Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “You Can’t Take That Away From Me”--numbers the trio performed at a recent tribute to Ella Fitzgerald at Carnegie Hall.
Next were holiday classics including “Sleigh Ride,” and “The Christmas Song.”
“We have a Christmas record out called ‘Let’s Share Christmas,’ ” said John Pizzarelli. “We encourage you to all please buy it in bulk.”
Net proceeds from the $250-per-person event--which featured a post-dinner concert by the Pacific Chorale--were estimated at “more than $210,000,” said Barbara Glabman.
Center Chairman Mark Johnson told guests: “We didn’t realize [the concert] would sell out as fast as it did after the tremendous success of the 10th anniversary gala in September. All the more reason to say, ‘Thank you.’ ”
