Many people went all out for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado’s 30th birthday last fall.
It was a Great Gatsby-esque extravaganza, with an elegant crowd and flapper dresses galore. Some of the items in the silent auction were pretty special, too, with a Great Gatsby luncheon by Suzanne Parker and Cindy Cortese among the donations.
Sandy Bruce was the generous bidder – she and her husband, Mike, are huge supporters of Big Brothers Big Sisters – and she invited a group of friends to join her for the “do” on Feb. 25 at Cortese’s home. Her lucky guests were Chris Warren, Karren Little, Cathy Gaskell, Judy Harris, Karen Barger, Donna Cook and Karen Thompson.
They got into the spirit of things, sporting boas, flapper dresses, headbands, etc.
They arrived to a soundtrack of music from the 1920s and 1930s compiled by Richard Cortese to find a table decorated with pearls, feathers, costume jewelry, crystal, flowers and candles. Talk about setting the mood!
Geri Swingle and Janice Martin joined the hostesses in providing exceptional table service.
I have been the fortunate recipient of Parker’s culinary talent – this is a woman who has a cookbook collection she uses. And in her old house, she had a whole room dedicated to cooking tools and pantry delicacies. She freaked out a tad when realizing she would be feeding Barger, the owner of Seasons Rotisserie & Grill, but she needn’t have.
In fact, Barger asked if they had the luncheon catered, which is quite the compliment.
Parker gave the hostess some menu choices, and Bruce picked a lovely meal, which started with champagne and mini-crab cakes topped with lemon aioli, followed by a seafood bisque with a puff-pastry crust. The entrée was a poached chicken pinwheel stuffed with Emmenthal cheese and a wine sauce, served with mushroom-and-potato frittata and dilled carrot ribbons. For dessert? Delicious spiced wine-poached pears with blue cheese served in a wine reduction with cracked black pepper. All was served with a choice of red and white wines.
If I’m making you drool, it’s for a reason. Special events like these are often offered at fundraisers, but people don’t always bid high because they don’t realize what a once-in-a-lifetime experience they are. And in this day and age, when many of us are trying to simplify our lives, experiences mean more than possessions.
I think that may be why Bruce agreed to let me write about the affair – because she, like me, thinks they should be bringing in more money for the causes being supported.
And come on, what’s not to like? An elegant luncheon in someone else’s home where all you have to do is write a check and decide whom to invite. How much easier can it be to host?
So the next time you see something like this at an auction, bid often and bid high, go in with some friends and have a memorable time of your own.
HHH
While I’m thinking about Big Brothers Big Sisters, the countdown is on for Bowl for Kids Sake. It’s March 14 at Rolling Thunder Lanes in Ignacio, and it’s always fun, whether you’re bowling gutter balls or strikes (although strikes are really fun).
If you don’t bowl or don’t have a team but still want to contribute, visit www.bbig.org to pledge to a team or just make a donation.
HHH
Here’s hoping these Pisces birthday celebrants have happy birthdays – Steve Kiely, John Siebert, Hayden Siekman, Lilly Tichi, Geo Freitag, David Bishop, Troy Bledsoe, Warren Broman, Susie Fisher, Frank Tikalsky, Marci Wait, Lynda Morris, Art Cahill, Brittany Jaramillo and Phyllis Max.
Special greetings to my favorite peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich chef, Jeani Poe.
HHH
Un millón de gracias to Charles Leslie at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, who booked the Flamenco Vivo with Carlota Santana in February. I’ve had to travel to Santa Fe or Albuquerque to get my occasional flamenco fix – I lived in Spain for a time and got hooked. (I even took some lessons, but the castanets completely flummoxed me. Coordinated, I’m not.)
It was also wonderful to see so many people of Hispanic heritage there, which added to the liveliness and richness of the experience.
Leslie said it took a while to find a flamenco troupe of sufficient quality that he could bring in. I hope this has been successful enough to either bring them back or continue the search for more groups of similar caliber because they were superb, musicians and dancers alike.
HHH
The folks in the southeast corner of La Plata County are just far enough away that they have to make a lot of their own fun.
And on March 7, the Mt. Allison Grange is adding a bit of the Irish to the Southwest by holding its annual chili contest with Irish bingo for entertainment. (You’ll just have to go to find out what that is.)
There are three categories for the chili chefs out there: red, green and miscellaneous. There will be a winner in each category and a People’s Choice Award.
All entries will be served free of charge starting at 5:30 p.m., and once everyone is happily digesting, it will be time for bingo, with prizes and everything.
If you have a sweet tooth, homemade baked goods will be available for purchase.
To enter the chili contest, contact Yvonne Chapman at 799-3064 or Shirley Engler at 883-2483, or email mtallisongrange@gmail.com.
HHH
We’re fast approaching the Durango Film Festival as well – March is always busy, and the festival kicks it off with a bang.
I’m leaving the previewing to the Arts & Entertainment section, except for one special documentary. Music in the Mountains is partnering with the Durango Film Festival - two festivals in one – to bring in “Virtuosity,” a film that goes behind the scenes of one of the most famous musical competitions in the world, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, in this case, the 2013 or the 15th outing.
Aviram Reichert, who has delighted Music in the Mountains concertgoers for years, was a bronze medalist at the competition in 1997, and we’ve enjoyed a few other medalists over the years. So the chance to see what it takes to win that kind of acclaim is exciting.
“Virtuosity” will air at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Durango Stadium 9. Tickets are $10, or you can use a festival six-punch pass ($65). They can be purchased at www.durangofilm.org.
HHH
Probably celebrating sunny anniversaries – because who knows anymore? – are Bill and Joyce Watt and David and Dora Chavez.
HHH
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