LOOK OUT FOR LOOKISM: Pop culture and the media got a bashing from Mary Pipher, guest speaker at the Ophelia Project Tampa Bay's annual luncheon. Just mentioning the name Janet Jackson was enough to get the audience to agree with Pipher, author of six books including Reviving Ophelia, from which the teen mentoring program got its name.
By AMY SCHERZER
Published March 12, 2004
More than 500 flocked to the A La Carte Pavilion on March 5 to hear Pipher discuss lookism, her term for "evaluating people solely on appearance." The Nebraska psychologist blamed the "tragic quest for thinness" on a dysfunctional culture, not dysfunctional families.
Pipher advocates giving teens more adult attention and a sense of usefulness in order to build emotional intelligence.
Plant High student Ashley Ann Herron spoke frankly about how the YMCA program, Truly Knowing Oneself, her middle school life from tortured to terrific. After that testimony, who could refuse the "big ask," said co-chairwoman Mart Pieper, pointing out donation envelopes on every table. The luncheon is expected to raise more than $20,000.
PARTY AT THE TANK: Institutions such as the city's Florida Aquarium "constantly must improve and change," Mayor Pam Iorio told a VIP crowd at the opening of Explore A Shore on March 4.
Agreed, said chairman of the board Tom Hall and aquarium director Thom Stork, welcoming 300-plus guests to the new children's play area. Within minutes, dozens of kids were having a blast splashing in geysers, zooming down a water slide and blasting water cannons on a pirate ship. Architect Henry Woodroffe of Tampa beamed at the $1.9-million renovation his firm designed.
The adults were just as happy to be sitting at the Tampa Tribune Caribbean Cantina sipping pina coladas and listening to the reggae band, Democracy. Sodexho piled up spicy shrimp, scallops and sushi, showing off the catering potential of the colorful new patio. Teak tables and chairs will seat 152 during the day and 242 at night. Explore A Shore's bandstand doubles as an educational area. Lockers and rest rooms are nearby, but you'll have to BYOT (Bring Your Own Towels).
Guests shooting the breeze around the tiki bar compared the setting to a Bahamas beach resort and top deck of a cruise ship.
FLAGRANT FASHIONISTAS: The International Academy of Design and Technology's 19th annual fashion show, No Limits: Designing for a Cure, featured more than 300 garments made by 75 students. WTSP-Ch.10 news anchor Reginald Roundtree and WFLA-Ch.8's The Spot host Lindsay Brien opened the show March 5 at the Tampa Convention Center.
Long and loud, the show featured clothing inspired by gangsta girls, graffiti, tool belts and fairy wings. Bikinis covered little; leg warmers covered more. I really liked the red taffeta and yellow gingham picnic togs by Susan Steury.
The future designers, under the direction of Sophia Asmar, produce the New York-style runway spectacle. The Tony & Guy salon staff did the hair and makeup.
Any student may submit a design; faculty judges pick the best to be modeled by professionals. Spotted in the 3,000-plus audience: Del Acosta, Tampa's administrator for architectural review, who teaches preservation at the academy, and Mona Roberson, who teaches interior design.
For more than three hours before the show, guests reviewed portfolios of graphic design, digital photography, computer animation and interior design students. Proceeds, about $6,000, will be sent to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND: White Gloves & Diamonds returned March 5, offering a jewelry fashion show to support the Florida Holocaust Museum's Teaching Trunks program. Rat Pack Too set a Tuscan tone, singing during lunch at the Hyatt Regency Tampa. Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto ran the live auction as models flashed from table to table modeling gems from Queens' Wreath Jewels in Sarasota.
Chairwoman Marci Kaufman and committee members Sandra Fleischman, Donna Jordan and Goldie Shear greeted about 120 guests, including about 20 men who were eager bidders.
ALL HAIL THE O'MALLEY: Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley named Joy Jones its 12th O'Malley ruler of the female krewe, at a Celebration Ball at the MacDill Air Force Base Officers Club on March 6.
Chairwoman Lynn Townsend of Gracefully Yours and committee decorated the Officers Club in a winter theme. Former O'Malleys were presented with a song to convey their personalities.
Jones, a graduate of Robinson High and Saint Leo University, works for Raymond James Financial. She averages 700 hours a year in volunteer service, ranging from a special needs Cub Scout pack at Roosevelt Elementary School to Wild Life on Easy Street. She's filled many roles in the krewe since joining in 1994.
POP THE CORK: Tri Delta sorority sisters from the University of South Florida poured wine at Uncork A Cork, a March 4 benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. They joined about 250 others at Bahasa Lounge for music and munching. Crab bread came from Champps, duck spring rolls from Mattison's, gumbo from Barnacle's, potstickers from Party by Design, crab rolls from Water and desserts from Wright's Gourmet House. National Distributing Co. donated a variety of wines to help raise nearly $13,000 for new treatments to fight the genetic disease.
- To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com
