Fundraising shines brightly at Candlelight Concert

B.W. COOK

It was the most glamorous Candlelight Concert in recent memory. Not

because of the dazzling setting. Rather, the O.C. crowd looked like

royalty. The women were stunning, and the gentlemen were dignified.

The 2004 Candlelight Concert, raising upwards of $1.2 million for

the Orange County Performing Arts Center -- produced under the loving

chairmanship of Carol Wilken -- was indeed a collective statement

about what a group of dedicated citizens can accomplish.

The annual event is a testament to the power of individual and

corporate giving. The evening’s chairwoman, Wilken, the bright and

beautiful wife of Kent Wilken (both generous supporters of the

center), was exquisite in a deep-gray, satin ball gown bejeweled and

beaded, scooped at the neckline, fitted at the waist and flowing on

the floor as she moved through the crowd. Classic, elegant, tasteful,

sublime and just a bit old-fashioned and old world, Wilken set the

standard and the tone for an evening of friendship and fundraising at

holiday time in Costa Mesa.

Across the room, blond and gorgeous socialite Patti Edwards stood

with her dapper husband Jim Edwards, looking like British royalty.

The statuesque Edwards wore a body-fitting, lace-appliqued gown

accented by a simple fur boa tied at her breast with a satin ribbon.

Also on the very best-dressed list were Elizabeth and Henry

Segerstrom; Julianne Argyros, just in from Spain with husband George

Argyros; Sandi and Ron Simon; Ronnie Allumbaugh on the arm of her

man, Byron Allumbaugh; Suki and Randy McCardle; Sheila and Ygal

Sonenshine; and the very chic co-chairwoman of the evening, Joan

Riach and husband Tom Riach.

More standouts were Joyce and Tom Tucker, Joan and John Hotchkis,

Jennifer and Anton Segerstrom, Valaree and Robert Wahler, Marilyn and

Tom Sutton, Debbie Simon, Sally and Randy Crockett, Pat and Alan

Rypinski, Catherine and Jim Emmi, Janet and Carl Nolet Jr., Susan

Samueli, Susan and Tim Strader, Daranne and Paul Folino, Barbara and

Tom Peckenpaugh, Melinda and Fari Pakzad, and Whitney Mandel -- the

wife of center president Jerry Mandel.

The evening began with cocktails on the plaza level lobby of the

center. As the roughly 500 guests arrived at the cornerstone of Costa

Mesa culture, they left their cars to the red-jacket-clad valets and

witnessed the rising of a phoenix. The expansion of the Orange County

Performing Arts Center looms across the street, as steel framing

defines the new $200-million concert hall to come in 2006, just

around the corner. Indeed, the center’s donors have much to be proud

about. Following the leadership of arts patron Henry Segerstrom, the

vision of a concert hall becomes reality after a long campaign. In

the crowd of generous benefactors were Charles and Twyla Martin,

General William Lyon and Willa Dean, Zee Allred and Drago Gligic,

Carmela Du, Brian and Lori Hirth, Tom and Pam Bender, Sandy

Segerstrom and John Daniels, Tim and Jean Weiss, Roger and Gail

Kirwan, Clifford and Barbro Heinz, Elizabeth and Tom Tierney, Dotti

Stillwell and Greg Robertson.

As the cocktail reception featuring the generous underwriting

support of Ketel One Vodka came to a close, bells sounded requesting

concert guests to take their seats in the orchestra section of

Segerstrom Hall. An orchestra befitting Carnegie Hall was on stage, a

hint of the show to come. A classy introduction from Jerry Mandel,

wearing a black formal dinner suit and a white tie fashioned in a

Windsor knot, began the festivities, starring jazz singer Steve

Tyrell.

Opening his show with Christmas songs, backed by an incomparable

orchestra, Tyrell moved from holiday favorites to American standards,

and then closed with more holiday music and a tribute to the late Ray

Charles. Tyrell came on the scene several years ago as a performer

after a nearly 40-year career behind the scenes in the music

business. He is a man living his dream.

As the Tyrell concert concluded, in Candlelight Concert tradition,

the curtain was raised revealing the Segerstrom Stage, dressed for

dinner. Art Deco and his orchestra played as the crowd ascended from

their concert seats to a magical world created by designer Pat

Rypinski in concert with Hollywood art director Jim Mees and local

floral designer Andrew Gromek. It was an avant-garde vision of a

night on the town. Whimsical inverted umbrellas, illuminated in red

and white, hung from rafters dangling with stars. The floral

centerpieces were inspired, artistic, very original. Orchids

blossomed in hand-blown glass vessels perched on beaded branches

reaching for the moon. Exquisite linens with a handmade look provided

by the talented young Allyson Sonenshine graced the tables set with

square, amber glass dinner service and gold and black woven metal

flatware with an Asian influence. It could have been a night in

Saigon, Hong Kong, New York or Costa Mesa.

Spotted table-hopping were Janis Agopian, Terry Goldfarb-Lee, Pat

and Dick Allen, Ginger and Tony Allen, Orva Schramm, Nancy and Jim

Baldwin, R.J. and Gloria Brandes, Marsha and Darrel Anderson, Diana

Martin, Pat Poss, Kristi and Doug DeCinces, Lois Eisenberg, Don and

Dorothy Kennedy, Carole and Robert Follman, Sherry and Parker

Kennedy, Kimberly and Fletcher Jones Jr., Rebecca and Carl McLarand,

Paul and Lily Merage, Richard and Givlia Merage and Brad and Nicole

Morrice. A very fine five-course dinner was served by the Four

Seasons, Newport Beach, under the supervision of chef Michele Pieton

and hotel general manager Thomas Guertner. The food began with a

first course of Dungeness crab cocktail with avocado, followed by a

salad of arugula in pomegranate vinaigrette and an entree of roasted

veal tenderloin. It was only surpassed by the impeccable service. An

assortment of cheese comprised course four, ending with a fifth

course dessert of flourless, bittersweet chocolate almond cake. Wines

flowed, the crowd danced until early dawn, and another incredible

fundraiser for the center was entered into local history.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.