Afternoon tea benefits YWCA of Tampa Bay

What a treat it was Thursday afternoon to take tea in the Sunset Ballroom of the Renaissance Vinoy Golf Club in St. Petersburg.

On plates garnished with orchid blossoms and fresh flower petals, the repast included tiny savory sandwiches, miniature tarts with fresh berries, paper-thin cookies and scones for Devonshire cream and jam. We didn't have to struggle with tea bags; the Vinoy staff poured the brew for us.

"It feels almost sinful to me to have tea at 4 o'clock in the afternoon," said Peggy Sanchez Mills, chief executive officer of the YWCA of Tampa Bay, which was the beneficiary of the event. The YWCA focuses on making life better for women and children, and the fundraiser appropriately pampered many women who work hard to support the organization.

Other treats were a performance by children from Family Village, the YWCA residential program, and a box of homemade shortbread, baked by Peggy Roberts, to take with us.

Alexis Crawford, in pink, and Minnie C. Williams, wearing red, were noticeable because of their elegant hats. Also in the crowd were Marilyn Johnson, Laurie Stone, Sandra Sims Moody, Sharon Jackson, Marty Petty, Laurie Stone, Roslyn Graham Haynes, Diane Foley, Allison Carmen, Pam Hamby, Tami Sims-Powel, Anne Long, Donna Fleece, Judy Wood-Ganisin, Debbie Kraujalis, Hannah Couture, Marilyn Ward, Pamela Skyrme and Steve Wolf.

Elizabeth Kleinfeld and Devin Collins now have a handy icebreaker for moments when conversation lags: They have something in common with Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville, Terence Blanchard and India.Arie. All performed at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Elizabeth, 8, plays trumpet, and Devin, 12, plays baritone saxophone in Sonny LaRosa's America's Youngest Jazz Band, which entertained audiences at the Hard Rock Cafe in New Orleans, then Preservation Hall.

Lauren and Larry Kleinfeld were among the adults who traveled with the group; Mrs. Kleinfeld reports that misting fans were everywhere in the Big Easy to cool the crowds during the record-breaking heat. Some of the young musicians began an impromptu street performance.

"They made money!" Mrs. Kleinfeld said.

Next month, America's Youngest Jazz Band will perform at the Syracuse Jazz Festival.

St. Petersburg Preservation Inc. has named Robert Jeffrey preservationist of the year for his work restoring a number of properties in historic Kenwood. It's his passion and his work: He is the city's manager of urban design and historic preservation.

Jeffrey lives in Kenwood, where he has restored 10 houses and a couple of apartment buildings. His next project is converting a Beaux Arts grocery store building in the neighborhood into lofts.

Judges Tim Clemmons, Charles Canerday, George Rahdert and Kate Hoffman recognized Sunken Gardens, the Pier Hotel, Admiral Farragut Academy and a private home in Roser Park for restoration and rehabilitation efforts.

The organization will present those and other awards at a reception Wednesday afternoon in the tea garden at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, where the annual Florida Trust for Historic Preservation's annual meeting begins Thursday.

Members of the Science Center Guild presented a $19,000 check to the center on May 2 and heard about plans for the organization to purchase Mediaglobe, a compact, full-color digital planetarium.

Information from Minolta, which is marketing the system, calls it "the world's first full-color, full-dome projection digital planetarium, and (it) includes multimedia functions capable of projecting high-quality images onto the entire area of a hemispherical dome screen. The Mediaglobe combines digital planetarium functions and multimedia projection functions in one compact unit, and can replace all other projectors found in traditional small-dome planetariums."

Chairwoman Terry Ray planned the luncheon, held in the Treasure Island Tennis & Yacht Club. New officers are Lorraine Danna, president; Edie Spies, president-elect; Connie Whitehead, vice president; Mary Shuh, recording secretary; Sharon Zimring, corresponding secretary; Alice Radcliffe, treasurer; and Jeanice Harring, assistant treasurer.

Jenny Gardner and Sue Allen manage the Science Center store with a team of volunteers.

Do you ever look at national magazines and wonder where on earth you'd find some of the products they mention? Many such publications have resource guides in the back of the book to help the inquisitive.

If you love roses and desire the $225 Hable Construction pillow featured on Page 174 of the May issue of O, the Oprah Winfrey magazine, look no further than Being, the Art of Living, a home design and gift retailer in St. Petersburg's BayWalk. O mentions it in a fine-print reference on Page 298.

Jasmine Marston and Amy Bromley opened the store last November and also carry the Annieglass and Mitchell Gold lines featured in the photo shoot. The business partners met the two women who own Hable Construction at the New York gift show and "we kind of bonded there," Marston says. The St. Petersburg store is one of the few retailers in Florida that carries the line.

LOOKING AHEAD

Thursday

GALA WINE TASTING: St. Petersburg Board of Managers event benefits Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Petersburg. 6-8 p.m. A Taste for Wine, 241 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $40. 546-1032.

Friday

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY DAY DINNER: Pinellas County Urban League benefit, Dr. Don Steger of Charlotte, N.C., guest speaker. 6:30 p.m. Sheraton Sand Key Resort Hotel, 1160 Gulf Blvd., Clearwater. $100. 327-2081.

WINE AND CHEESE TASTING: Fundraiser for GFWC St. Petersburg Junior Woman's Club projects including Brookwood, CASA, Head Start and Ronald McDonald House. 7-9 p.m. Woman's Club, 40 Snell Isle Blvd. NE, St. Petersburg. No admission fee; donation suggested. 864-4079.

Saturday

FAMILY DAY FOR RESURRECTION HOUSE: Food and games, tile painting, arts and crafts for children of all ages. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Resurrection House, 800 11th St. N, St. Petersburg. No admission charge; nominal fees for crafts. 526-4779.

-- Mary Jane Park can be reached at (727) 893-8267; fax (727) 893-8675; e-mail park@sptimes.com; P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

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