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On the town

Fashion fundraiser a whirl of success

By MARY JANE PARK
Published October 16, 2005

Gauchos and gold, boleros and boots were in the spotlight at Thursday's Fall Fashion Report, held in the Grand Ballroom at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort.

The annual St. Anthony's Hospital Auxiliary luncheon event, presented by Dillard's, was at capacity again, with 350 tickets sold.

Dillard's picks up all of the production costs for the show and provides clothing, models, makeup, runway, lighting, sound system - the works.

That translates into more money for the charity. Barb Kyes, a co-chairwoman with Mary Ellen Conte, estimated the event took in about $20,000, to be used toward renovation of the hospital lobby.

Several women who attended expressed appreciation for the plus-size and older models.

Dillard's special events coordinator Dawn Zackman told me the men and women in the show were from the Stella Jay Brown agency in Leesburg, but the scene-stealers were a couple of 4-year-olds: Zackman's daughter Drake and Jarrett Noakes.

Dick Crippen, executive director of community development for the Devil Rays, was master of ceremonies and one of my luncheon partners. He and his wife, Penny, their daughter Wendy Baker and granddaughter Maya soon will head to Carlisle, England, for a 10-day visit with son Kevin, his wife, Julie, and their children, Alastair and Annabel.

It's the sixth year for Angels after Dark, the fundraiser for children's ministries at St. Petersburg's First United Methodist Church, which has become a preholiday shopping tradition among lots of women I know. I say women because I saw only women staffing the stations, giving directions and buying merchandise when I stopped by the Bank of America Tower early Friday morning.

Mandy Rutledge, this year's chairwoman, said there were a number of new vendors this year, and there was much to admire, from the Allison Massari pendants and paintings to the CB Design monogrammed T-shirts with crystal team logos from Corrie Stover and her mother, Barbara Byelick, to the pearl bracelets with vintage rhinestone Parisian belt buckles from Michigan-based Bridget Bosco Designs that I still cannot afford but nonetheless admire.

All of the volunteers wore chic aprons, which the Wall Street Journal recently reported are an accessory of the moment, even among people who don't cook. And the savvy planners added several grace notes: child care, because Friday was a day out of school for lots of children; shopping bags, for a donation; and "I shopped" stickers, a la the "I voted" tags we get at the polls on Election Day.

Proceeds from the annual event support an extensive young people's program at the downtown church, from weekly sessions to special summer presentations.

At a Museum of Fine Arts reception for major donors on Oct. 7, the tour was of current exhibitions, but patrons were glowing over a mention in the previous day's Washington Post.

"Monet's London: Artists' Reflections on the Thames, 1859-1914," which the museum staged from January through April, now is at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

"The smart curator responsible," Paul Richard wrote, " "Jennifer Hardin of the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla. - has given us the opposite of a monographic show. In medium and in motive, in quality and size, the objects she has chosen could scarcely be more varied. And yet the longer you look at them, the more they feel alike.

"Most are empty of nostalgia and filled with pride. They're reaching for the future. What flows through this exhibit from the first room to the last is a distinctive urban optimism. It isn't just the Thames."

Food and drink were served in the Marly Room and the gardens to a group that included Hardin and her husband, Emmanuel Roux; director John Schloder; board president Carol Upham; Starr Weihe; Dr. Richard and Mary Perry; Bill and Kathy Stover; Fred an d Barbara McCoy; Helga and Lewis Andrews; and Dr. Robert and Chitranee Drapkin.

The Drapkins, who live in Clearwater, have added nearly 300 photographs to the museum's collection, among them the Weegee (Arthur Fellig) works from New York in the 1960s that will be showcased in a new exhibit opening at the museum Nov. 5.

Dick and Helen Minck, who also attended, are financial backers of "Jack Earl, Ohio Artist" at Bluffton University and Art Space Lima in Ohio. Helen Minck is from Lima; the exhibition, which features a ceramic likeness of Dick Minck, opened Oct. 2 at the university, his alma mater.

Volunteers at the Florida International Museum's grand reopening party on Oct. 7 passed out violet- and green- and rose-colored eyeglasses to visitors who came to see the Beatles exhibition in the new space the museum shares with St. Petersburg College on Second Avenue N.

Images of the Fab Four played on the screen inside a retrofitted vintage television console, and people hummed along with the music as they stopped to view black and white photographs of the 1960s sensations.

The crowd included longtime museum supporters, among them executive director Kathy Oathout and her husband, Russ; curator Cynthia Duval; Mayor Rick Baker; Joe Cronin; Dick and Linda Johnston; Ira and Beverly Mitlin; and David and Linda Punzak.

Bill and Jacki Haack came from Pembroke Pines for the show; he is a collector whose Beatles memorabilia shares the new space with Bill Eppridge's photos.

Add another event to the 2006 Social Calendar: the first-ever Inaugural Mayoral Ball. The Junior League of St. Petersburg, celebrating its 75th anniversary, will host the event at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club on Jan. 7.

Both St. Petersburg mayoral candidates, Rick Baker and Ed Helm, have agreed to support the fundraiser, which will benefit the league, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast and a charity of the mayor's choice.

St. Petersburg's city elections are scheduled Nov. 8; the inauguration is Jan. 2.

Additional information: 895-5018; www.jlstp.org

The Queen's Court, which raises money through St. Petersburg's Queen of Hearts Ball for worthy charities each year, is seeking nominations of outstanding community volunteers for inclusion in the Queen's Court.

Information packets may be received by calling 392-0509.

Nominations will be accepted through Jan. 9.

The 2006 Queen of Hearts Ball is scheduled Feb. 25 at the Hilton St. Petersburg.

correct the date for the Boley Angels' annual Christmas Brunch, now scheduled Dec. 6 at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Additional information: 399-8003; 367-3353.

Monday

MINILUNCHEON, CARD PARTY: All Children's Hospital Guild, Beach Branch, event. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Treasure Island Community Center, 1 Park Place, Treasure Island. $7.50. 367-0030.

Saturday

SAINT OCTOBER FEST: St. Raphael Catholic school event features barbecue, games, bounce houses, rock climbing wall, bingo, silent auction, praise band. 2-9 p.m. 1376 Snell Isle Blvd. NE, St. Petersburg. Free; purchase tickets for food, games. 686-6075.

THREE TENORS PLUS ONE: Preshow gala, performance. 6 p.m. Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N, St. Petersburg. $100. 822-3590, 1#; www.palladiumtheater.com

BOO! BASH: Benefits Great Explorations, the Children's Museum. Mystery drama, psychic readings, entertainment revue, costumed characters, steel band. Masks, costumes encouraged. 8 p.m.-midnight. 1925 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg. $50. 821-8992, ext. 216.

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 October 16, 2005, 01:31:12]