Supporters on fire for the center

B.W. COOK

The fifth annual Fire Bird dinner brought together distinguished

donors and guests of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Generously underwritten by Tiffany & Co., the annual Fire Bird

tribute actually began the previous week with an in-store reception

thrown by Tiffany at South Coast Plaza.

The chic cocktail party was built around an exhibition of

world-class jewelry by designer Jean Schlumberger. The collection,

called “Joie de Vivre,” made its West Coast debut under the watchful

eye of Pierce MacGuire, director of the Schlumberger Collection.

MacGuire jetted in from New York to share tales of the legendary

Schlumberger with the Newport-Mesa crowd, supporting the Orange

County Performing Arts Center.

Spotted in-store were Harriet and Sandy Sandhu of Pelican Point,

glamorous gal pals Karen Hardin and Jan Salta and super volunteer

Carol Wilken, a close friend of the Center enjoying the presentation

with Center Vice President of Programs Judy Morr.

The reception, hosted by Tiffany Vice President Jeff Bennett, was

a prelude to the elegant Fire Bird dinner, which unfolded Monday

evening under the icon of OCPAC, the Fire Bird sculpture. Jerry

Mandel, with his elegant bride Whitney, welcomed donors to dinner,

thanking them for literally millions of dollars in support.

“For your vision, commitment and dedication, we are proud to honor

our Fire Bird guests,” Mandel told the crowd.

The party list was comprised of donors contributing $25,000 or

more to the Center in annual unrestricted contributions.

Patrons of honor included Nora Hester, Pam and Tom Bender, Carole

and Robert Follman, Lori and Brian Hirth, Sherry and Parker Kennedy,

Willa Dean and William Lyon, Jan and Mike Salta, Heidi and Nick

Shahrestany and Center chairman Paul Folino and his wife Daranne.

Also applauded for their generous support were Barbara and Ben

Harris, Donalyn Kling, Debbie and Jeff Margolis, Mary Reinhold, Mary

and Richard Cramer, Marjorie and Joseph Davis, and Jan and Lyle

Eisal.

The evening began with a reception in the Center foyer followed by

a very fine dinner, prepared and served by the Four Seasons Hotel,

Newport Beach. After dinner, guests were escorted downstairs to

Founders Hall for a performance of “Side by Side by Sondheim.”

Distinguished donors also deserving mention include John and Kelly

Hague, Fred and Jean Hamann, Russell Jura, Karen Hardin, Bruno and

Sharon Lebon, Jule and Bonnie Marshall, Pete Pirzadeh, Bill and Carol

Russell and Harriet and Sandy Sandhu.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.