Canyon Club partyers ring in a new year

The Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach is preparing a major exhibition of landscapes by emerging and mid-career international artists.

Curators at the museum are calling the presentation “Landscape Confection.” The show will open Feb. 5 and run through May 7 and feature some 50 works that represent landscapes, “portrayed in stitched fabric, beads, wax, metal, silk flowers and other surprising materials,” said museum representative Kirstin Schmidt. Artists participating in the show represent countries and cultures worldwide brought together by the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio. For more information on the upcoming show please call Schmidt at (949) 759-1122, ext. 202, or send e-mail to kschmidt@ocma.net..

Planned Parenthood will throw a cocktail reception Thursday at Park Prive in Costa Mesa, bringing together the Orange County community in support of Planned Parenthood projects.

Organizers are calling the cocktail reception “Stand Up For Choice” inasmuch as it is a celebration commemorating the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Kate Michelman will be the guest of honor at the reception. A well-known lobbyist, Michelman is a political strategist involved in the highest levels of the U.S. government and also served as former president of NARAL, a pro-choice advocacy association.

The honorary host committee of the event includes California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Assemblyman Tom Umberg, as well as other local dignitaries.

Kellie Deane Freeman joins Christina Hemandez as co-chairwomen of the cocktail reception.

State Sen. Joe Dunn serves as honorary chairman, supported by a local committee that includes Elaine Booth; Karen Clark; William Daily; Jane Egly; Susanne Freeze; Bart and Joan Hake; Eleanor Klein; Nora Lehman; Jeff LeTourneau; Marta Macias Brown; and Shirley Palley.

Tickets are $75 each and can be reserved by calling Courtney Patterson at (714) 633-6373 or by e-mail to cpatterson@pposbc.org.

My local culinary princess Lee Healy, who has her finger on the pulse of the O.C. dining experience, shares two fun upcoming events welcoming community participation. First, Taps Fish House and Brewery is throwing a commemorative luncheon honoring the 300th birthday of Benjamin Franklin.

The party begins at noon Tuesday in the Brea brewery and will begin with a specially prepared toast of Poor Richard’s Ale made with corn and molasses. The first course will be Thomas Jefferson’s sweet potato biscuits followed by West Indies pepper pot soup and dandelion salade, two recipes from the City Tavern in Philadelphia that have been served in America for more than 250 years. The main course will be Martha Washington’s turkey stew, which is a combination of poultry and oysters and was a popular dish in colonial America. For dessert, maple buttermilk pie. The use of maple as a sweetener became popular after the Sugar Act of 1764, put into effect by England taxing and limiting sugar in the colonies. There might be a few reservations left. Call Taps at (714) 257-0101.

Then, beginning Jan. 26 and running through Feb. 5, Ling and Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill at Irvine Spectrum and Thaifoon Taste of Asia at Fashion Island will present a special Chinese New Year’s menu.

Newport restaurateur Randy Schoch and his team are calling the special presentation “The Good Fortune Feast” in celebration of the Chinese New Year 4704. They will serve an eight-course, 10-item menu for four to five guests priced at the lucky number of $88.

There will also be a menu called “Double Happiness” for couples, which will be a three-course menu priced at $18.88 per person. The actual Chinese New Year falls on Jan. 29, and it’s the Year of the Dog.

Healy reports that both restaurants have created a cocktail they are calling what else but, “Lucky Dog”. Schoch adds, “Kung hei fatt choy.... Wishing you a happy new year.”

New Year’s Eve was a high flying affair at the Canyon Club in Crystal Cove. It was a night of glitz and glamour, as more than 100 residents of Crystal Cove and their guests dressed to kill and joined together to bring in 2006 at the posh new club high on the hill fronting the Pacific Ocean.

“It was nonstop dancing all night long,” offered Canyon Club activities director Jamie DeJong.

Music was provided by “Class of ‘69,” with dinner catered by Regency Catering. Spotted in the crowd were Kristy and Brian Homsy; Gina and Lyle Dybwad; Irene and Michael Simkin; Alicia and Robert Woers; and Frank and Cheryl Rosen.

* THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.

20060114it1twinc(LA)Rick and Robyn Geary enjoy New Year’s Eve at the Canyon Club in Crystal Cove. 20060114it1typnc(LA)Cheryl Rodgers, Cheryl Rosselet and Carol Rudat sparkle as the New Year approaches at the Canyon Club party. 20060114it1txtnc(LA)Wendy and Pete Freix celebrate New Year’s Eve at the posh Canyon Club. 20060114gzf7uqke(LA)20060114it1tzcnc(LA)Aaron Gurewitz, Jaci Jocober, and Jerry and Gigi Bronstrup take a break from dancing to the songs of the Class of ’69 at the Canyon Club on New Year’s Eve. 20060114it1tz5nc(LA)Pam and Jim Young attend the festivities at the Crystal Cove Canyon Club. 20060114it1tx1nc(LA)Jamie DeJong joins Jim and Debbie Bradford as they ring in the New Year at the Canyon Club.