TALKING AND EATING ALLOWED: Dinner and dancing at the John F. Germany Public Library? Partying between bookshelves made us wary. But who better to sell Kid City's bold new plan than Dr. Seuss and Peter Pan?
"The library symbolizes our mission of literacy and diversity for toddlers to teens," said Shari Mezrah, co-chair of Imagination, a benefit for Kid City, the Children's Museum of Tampa. She went by the book to get county approval to hold Saturday's gala amid the stacks.
By February, Mezrah and co-chair Randy Feldman (he wore white from fedora to patent leather shoes) had 27 table sponsors. That booked all the seats before Save the Date cards could be mailed.
Kids, the ultimate beneficiaries, set up, cleaned up or dressed up as storybook characters. Three talented student troupes entertained: Hillsborough High's Big Red drum line, the Blake High Singers and Tampa Bay Children's Chorus.
A bubble-blasted tunnel led from cocktails near children's fiction upstairs to dinner by Mise en Place and a live auction. WFLA-Ch. 8 anchor Stacy Schaible got $4,400 for a custom playhouse, designed and built by John Curran of Gould Evans Architects and David Lesser of Windstar Homes, sold to Don and Erika Wallace. Chrisi and David Laxer bid $1,800 for a mother-daughter package including a tea party at Rosemary Cottage, dresses from the Pink Palm and manicures and pedicures from the Nail Nanny. The dads get a day at the Difference spa for men.
Talks are under way for a site to build a new 25,000-square-foot, interactive museum, preferably in Channelside, announced board president Heidi Shimberg. She said corporate sponsors are lining up for the $11.5-million project.
Imagination netted $95,000, said museum director David Penn in Dr. Seuss hat, including a $10,000 grant announced at the party from Verizon for the Readers and Writers Club. That's double last year's gala.
Personal highlight: Buying a flute of champagne came with the chance to win a 1-carat diamond donated by Continental Jewelry. Having lost my wedding ring two years ago, I was speechless when I won. As one of the moms who launched the children's museum at Safety Village, I'm so proud to see it succeed and grow.
WHEN LIFE HURTS: The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay honored Barbara Wilcox at its inaugural Cup of Compassion breakfast May 13. CEO Dennis Ross credited the longtime Realtor for collecting almost $3-million in donations of cash, property and supplies. Her granddaughter, Jessie Hanson, read a poem she wrote just for her.
Breakfast chairman John Sykes spoke passionately about APPLE (Abuse Prevention, Psychotherapy and Life Education), a program for sexually abused children. He and his wife, Susan, donated $1-million to purchase the Crisis Center's building on Bearss Avenue. The breakfast added nearly $75,000 for programs that serve about one in seven county residents.
PACEMAKERS AS PEACEMAKERS: Silk paintings from Thailand, carpets from India, art and handicrafts from Colombia, Honduras and Mexico - Follow Your Heart Around the World offered a global silent auction. Wines and cuisine of many cultures enticed supporters to the benefit for Heartbeat International on May 14 at Higgins Hall.
The travel theme developed as President Wil Mick gathered unusual auction items from nations that receive cardiac pacemakers donated to Heartbeat International.
Auctioneer Jay Furnari got the crowd of 300 motivated when he told them every $500 raised pays for one pacemaker implant. With that in mind, John Stanton bid $20,000 for a Babe Ruth-autographed baseball donated by Antero Fernandez, a recent pacemaker recipient, who got it when he was 12. Innuendo played for conga line dancers while other guests paid for their treasures, raising nearly $85,000.
COMEBACK KIDS: The Grand Krewe de Libertalia presented Algenise Childs, a freshman at Durant High School, with two years of prepaid tuition at a Florida college during Treasure Chest 2004.
The May 14 awards banquet at the Tampa Museum of Art honored four students as "Comeback Kids" for refocusing and continuing their education despite many obstacles. Jahaad Wingfield and Ashley Engstrom of Gary Adult High School, and Mercedes Mendoza and Krystal Trevino of Durant, each received $500, and tons of beads. Speakers at the awards banquet included Judge Monica Sierra and Poet Laureate James Tokley.
PYRAMID PARTY: King Kurt Josephs of the Krewe of Venus invited 250 guests to feast like a pharaoh April 24 at the Indian Conference Center. Aladdin and other genies passed out maps to the king's animal reserve where they could pose for pictures with a lion, tigers, a leopard and alligators. In a puff of smoke, King Kurt introduced magician Zigmont who put Queen Venus Tanya Phillips on a bed of nails. It looked like they went right through her.
Southtown Fever rocked to "King Kurt," their version of Steve Martin's classic King Tut. When a pyramid-shaped cake arrived, they played Happy Birthday for the king and his duke, Bill Calderazzo, the krewe's president-elect.
- To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com
Datebook
SATURDAY: Artists and Writers Ball: Bohemian Bubbas 'n Babes benefits Mental Health Care Foundation; 7 p.m.; Italian Club, 1731 E Seventh Ave; $85 in advance, $95 at the door; 272-2878
SATURDAY: Sea Grapes wine tasting and auction benefits Florida Aquarium; 7 p.m.; $60. Must be 21 to attend, bring ID; 273-4568.
SATURDAY: Starry Starry Night dinner benefits Friends of Joshua House; 7 p.m.; Harbour Island home of Ron and Bev Bailey; $500; limited to 100 guests; 949-8946, ext. 275.
MAY 27: Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation; benefits America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay and the Beth-El Farmworker Ministry; 5:30 p.m.; Marriott Waterside; $150; 503-3039.
JUNE 18: 3rd Annual Cigar Celebration benefits United Cerebral Palsy/AdvanceAbility Solutions; Tampa Port Authority Cruise Terminal No. 3; 7 p.m.; $100; 239-1179, ext. 219.
