Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Artwork on the menu at Salvador Dali Museum's benefit dinner

By MARY JANE PARK, Times Staff Writer
Published January 20, 2008

01.11.08

For half a century, St. Petersburg's Queen's Court has acknowledged women's community service through its annual Queen of Hearts Ball.

Literally dozens of former queens and princesses filled the St. Petersburg Museum of History for a reception that marked the opening of an exhibit focused on the women and their various causes.

On display in "Queen of Hearts: 50 Years of Volunteerism" are memorabilia including programs from various events and profiles of charities that have benefited from the annual fundraiser.

The court has raised more than $1-million for nonprofits since the inception of the ball.

Key organizers of the exhibit, which runs through April 30, are Judy Cunniff, Ginny Battaglia, Karol Bullard, Mary Wyatt Allen and Sparky Paradis.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and museum board of trustees president Rutland Bussey welcomed the group.

Only one guest - 2007 Queen of Hearts Catherine McGarry - wore a tiara, but she is entitled, at least until March 1, when the 2008 queen will take the throne.

Money raised from this year's ball will go to the St. Petersburg Free Clinic and the Breast Center at St. Anthony's.

The court is receiving applications from organizations that serve the St. Petersburg area to receive grants from the 2009 event.

To be eligible, charities must be listed under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code. Applications may be obtained by calling 576-7999.

The deadline for submission is Feb. 1.

12.12.07

After 21 years with PARC, development officer Linda D. Klehammer announced her retirement and celebrated longtime friendships at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.

Guests included PARC founder Bert Muller and his wife, Jean; their daughter Michelle Muller Detweiler; Carol Monti; Dick Crippen; Chuck and Bobbie Burkett; Phyllis Eig;Maritza Smith; Dr. Elias and Jenny Hasbun; Sandra Wasson; L. Lamar and Jeanne Woodard; retired Lt. Col. Donald Powell and his wife, Joyce; Lorene Dolen; Susan Rasmussen; Ben Friedlander; Elisabeth Mulder; and Kelli Caputo.

The group included Klehammer's daughters, Paula Klehammer Franz and Leslie Klehammer Furlong; and her sisters Sandy Cutshaw of Jesup, Ga., and Sheila Vestal.

Rare is the opportunity to have dinner in the galleries of an art museum, but patrons at the Salvador Dali Museum's annual benefit were able to do just that at tables set amid some of the artist's most significant works.

Board of trustees president Tom James was cheerful as he talked about the museum's planned new home across from the Mahaffey Theater on St. Petersburg's Bayshore Boulevard; the Dali and the city have signed a 99-year lease on property there.

Tampa's Chef Gui of Provence Catering paired food with some of Dali's artworks for an inspired menu that included butternut squash soup with shiitake mushrooms and truffle oil served in hollowed-out winter squash and a main course of lamb and Provencal ratatouille tian, or savory layers of thinly sliced vegetables.

Event co-chairs Karol K. Bullard and Karen Lang Johnston led a committee that included Anje Bogott, Jean Corbett, Betty Corty, Sally Habermeyer, Jeannine Hascall, Hazel Hough, Mary James, Charlotte Kendall, Suzanne MacDougald, Cathy Martin, Mary Alice McClendon, Carole Merritt, Sonya Miller, Carol Morsani, Janet Root and Barbara Ulrich.

[Last modified January 19, 2008, 20:51:35]