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On the town

Queen of Hearts Ball adds another generation

By MARY JANE PARK
Published February 23, 2005

The Queen of Hearts Ball, a St. Petersburg ritual since its inception in 1949, paid tribute to women volunteers Saturday evening at the Hilton St. Petersburg, the tiaras of generations of royalty twinkling in the ballroom.

Karol Bullard took the throne as the 2005 Queen of Hearts; she was sponsored by the Cross of Lorraine, an auxiliary of the American Lung Association of Gulfcoast Florida. Mrs. Bullard's husband, Fred, was her escort.

Princesses this year, their sponsoring charities and escorts, are:

Brenda Battaglia, Holy Angels, escorted by her son, Anthony.

Roseanna Costa, St. Anthony's Hospital Auxiliary and St. Petersburg Woman's Club, escorted by her husband, Bob.

Thelma Footman, All Children's Hospital Guild, escorted by her son, James.

Barbara Kyes, St. Anthony's Hospital Guild, escorted by her husband, Ford.

Kathleen Peters, St. Petersburg Museum of History, escorted by her husband, Michael.

Andrea Winning, Infinity and the Women's Service League, escorted by her husband, Mike Washich.

Brigitte Mastry and Kristin Battaglia were pages.

Referring to Mrs. Bullard, master of ceremonies Dick Crippen remembered their days as colleagues at WTSP-Ch. 10.

"When I did sports, she did weather," he said.

These days, Crippen is executive director of community development for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Crippen recognized the 2004 queen, Edie Spies, who was escorted by John Murphy and her son, Peter Burnett.

Members of last year's court are Mary Barton-Swarek, Mary Joan Mann, Melody Stang, Pat LaMonde, Cheryl Sanchez an d Carol Russell.

Family Resources and the St. Petersburg Museum of History are the beneficiaries of the 47th annual ball, the only fundraising event of the Queen's Court. Mary Wyatt Allen is its president.

Lorraine Danna chaired the event committee, which included Joann Barger, Paula Blanda, Sharon Clayton, Anna Collins, Margaret Dawson, Patsy Dunlap, Ann Foster, Ruth Gray, Teresa Hartley, Pat Howells, Connie Kone, Bernice McCune, Catherine McGarry, Maggi McQueen, Helena Miller, Luisa Perez-Harvey, Priscilla Hobby, Joan Jaicks, Sally Poynter, Barbara Sexton, Mary Shuh, Becky Stern, Sheila Tempelmann, Mary Jean Wall, Connie Whitehead, Brandi Winans and Diane Winning.

The opening night gala for "Diana, a Celebration" focused on royalty of a different sort.

Patrons crowded into St. Petersburg's Florida International Museum on Friday evening to tour the tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

It is a poignant homage to the woman whose early adulthood was defined in the spotlight of royal appearances as the wife of Britain's Prince Charles and the mother of Princes William and Harry.

The meringue cloud of a dress she wore as a 19-year-old bride is part of the exhibition, as is its 25-foot-long train.

In case you wondered, and some at the party Friday evening did, the celebrity Starr Jones Reynolds' wedding dress featured a train that exceeded Diana's by 2 feet.

People also wanted to know whether the dresses in the current exhibit are the same costumes that were shown in the 1997 Museum of Fine Arts exhibition. They aren't. They do reflect a fashion faux pas or two from the 1980s and represent Diana's stylistic sophistication as she matured.

Additional highlights are tokens of her childhood, including a little wooden trunk and her school progress reports; a prayer book inscribed by the late Mother Teresa; a journal and correspondence in Diana's hand; a watercolor Christmas card sent her by Prince Charles; the handwritten score to Candle in the Wind by George Martin; and the song's manuscript, by Bernie Taupin.

Flowers that were representational of an English garden lined the red carpet outdoors and the reception areas inside the museum.

The buffet dinner menu, catered by the Renaissance Vinoy Resort, included British fare such as Yorkshire pudding and shepherd's pie.

Friday's guest list included Dick and Linda Johnston, who are credited with bringing the show to St. Petersburg; FIM executive director Kathy Oathout; Mayor Rick Baker and his wife, Joyce; FIM board chairman David Punzak and his wife, Linda, who is president of the guild; George Cretokos; Carl Kuttler; Joe Cronin; Skipp and Joyce Fraser; Russ and Nancy Bond; George and Pam Campbell; Don and Diane Shea; John and Alicia Bryan; Frank Blandford an d Cary Bond Thomas; and Steve and Nancy H. Thomas.

All Children's Hospital, the Pinellas Association for Retarded Children and the Abilities Foundation are the charitable organizations that will benefit from the exhibition.

Here's how the British pronounce Althorp, the name of the princess' family home, I learned that evening: It's ALL-trup.

Joanne James Russell greeted old friends Friday evening at the Wine Warehouse of St. Petersburg.

Mrs. Russell and her husband, Erich, own and operate Rabbit Ridge Winery and Vineyards in California; the occasion was a wine tasting where Mrs. Russell signed copies of her cookbook, A Cook's Tour of Rabbit Ridge Winery.

Featured recipes at the tasting were bruschetta and blue cheese mousse with pecans.

The Russells live in St. Petersburg and Paso Robles, Calif. Mrs. Russell's father, Bill James, is a retired bank executive; her mother, Janice James, is a well-known Tampa Bay area artist.

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.

[Last modified February 23, 2005, 00:34:19]