R S V P / ORANGE COUNTY : Moonlight Rounds Up Best of the West : The Designing Women and other supporters of the Art Institute of Southern California kick up their heels.
From fluorescent-colored coyotes to glittering cowgirls, the Old West got a new look thanks to the artistic talents of the Designing Women of the Art Institute of Southern California.
About 200 guests in creative country-Western garb attended the Designing Women’s “Moonlight Roundup” Saturday at the Smithcliffs Estates in Laguna Beach. The $100-per-person gala, which included line dancing, barbecue and entertainment straight out of the Wild West, was expected to net $25,000 for the Laguna Beach-based institute.
Lasso the Moon
Although Smithcliffs Estates is currently a collection of empty oceanfront lots, the creative minds of Designing Women transformed it into a rancho complete with dance floor, stage and dining hall. They set up a huge white tent adorned with haystacks and colorful Western murals and covered the floor with sawdust and gold glitter.
“We wanted something a little more exciting than the typical country-Western party,” said Caren Chatham-Heller, event chairwoman. “This is still country-Western, but it’s a lot more fun.”
Outside, under a nearly full moon, guests could practice their line dancing to the down-home music of Free Reign.
Inside they sat at tables adorned with coyotes, jack rabbits and cacti painted in Day-Glo hues and sparkling with glitter. The Vegas-meets-Bonanza decor was the work of Doretta Ensign, one of the artistic committee members, who outshone everyone in a head-to-toe gold cowgirl outfit.
“I’m the original gold-digger,” she joked. She sported gold cowboy boots, a sparkling gold jacket and a cowboy hat she’d spray-painted gold to match her metallic ensemble.
Food and Spirit
The evening’s festivities included an old-fashioned barbecue of ribs, steak, marinated chicken, cole slaw and beans. After dinner, hired gun Jim Dunham of Tempe, Ariz. demonstrated his quick draw and other gun tricks used in movies such as “Tombstone,” on which he served as a consultant.
“From the time I was in high school I wanted to be the fastest gun in the world,” he said.
Guests also hooted and hollered when seven men, all institute supporters, came out on the dance floor dressed as cancan girls, kicking up their heels and flashing their boxer shorts.
The gala was held in honor of Constance Morthland, a founding member of Designing Women, who talked about the group’s early days under the leadership of the late Muriel Reynolds.
“We’ve always thought that some day there will be more artists in Orange County than were in the Italian Renaissance,” she said.
Proceeds from the gala support the institute, a specialized, accredited college of art and design.
Other guests were Patty Truman, president of Designing Women; Glenn and Marsha Bianchi, Boyd and Bibi Davis, Oscar and Alison Frenzel, Jane Grier, Arthur and Jackie Jacobson, Leon and Molly Lyon, Jack and Jan Massimino, Michael and Susan McFadden, Pamela O’Neill, Tom and Mary Catherine Payne, Tom and Barbara Peckinpaugh, Bill and Hillary Price, Peg Reday, Philip and Laurie Reed, Shirley Thayer, Sandy and Harold Price, John and Nancee Weingarden and Sandra and Lawrence Wessel.