The Crowd:

It was 1976 in Costa Mesa as the crowd converged on the Orange County Performing Arts Center for the 36th annual Candlelight Concert. The theme was “Disco Fever.”

The clock was turned back, taking those in the crowd 50 and older back to their youthful days of dancing under the mirrored disco ball to the sounds of the Bee Gees and one woman in particular, crowned the Queen of Disco, Miss Donna Summer.

The queen still reigns. Summer fronted Candlelight Concert this year with her booming voice as clear as it was in 1976 when she too was in her 20s.

From the opening song to the closing ballad, her signature “I Will Survive,” the well-healed crowd paying a minimum of $1,000 per ticket and more, crowded the dance floor in front of the stage in Segerstrom Hall.

By the end of the evening the disco fever had subsided, the mirrored ball stopped spinning, Summer got back in her black limousine and headed home to Los Angeles, and Center organizers raised nearly $1 million from the Christmas party that will support center programs all throughout the coming year.

Chaired by two very dedicated women, Marta Bhathal and Liz Merage, the party was more relaxed and less formal than in years past. Organizers removed the burgundy seats from the orchestra section and turned the theatrical seating area into a nightclub atmosphere with tiers of Lucite tables. They were dimmed with lighting that changed colors throughout the evening, adorned with shaded lamps, and surrounded by Christmas balls and shimmering holiday objects.

Dinner was catered by Patina. Chefs Greg Wiele and Joachim Splichas created an unusual menu that included delicacies such as scallops with truffle couscous, herbed rabbit rillettes, cranberry gazpacho with candied ginger and a trio of black trumpet mushrooms su mai. The entrée course was more traditional, less nouvelle, featuring tenderloin of beef for the more customary palate. Patrons raved about the wine pairings with each course.

The Candlelight Concert is a major labor of love for volunteers and staff. Some might just refer to it as a labor because the work load is tremendous.

Planning for the next year begins even before the current year debuts. Chairing Candlelight is an honored tradition where the baton is passed to women who essentially volunteer for many seasons in various roles prior to sitting in the leadership chair. It is a process that creates lifelong friendships and solidifies the fundraising goal by bringing many people in to what has become a very close-knit family.

That being said, the family is always looking for new children. Bringing younger members of the community at large into the group is essential for its growth and indeed for its survival.

For the last two consecutive years, Candlelight has taken on a younger tone. The party is less grand and formal, which, to be truthful, is a bit disappointing for those familiar with the spectacular setting created in prior years on the center stage of Segerstrom Hall. It often drew audible gasps from the crowd when the burgundy curtain went up on the party.

For the younger members of the Orange County family that never experienced those days, as well as for the old guard, Candlelight remains the platinum Christmas party of the season on the Riviera. Chairs such as Bhathal and Merage endeavor to be inclusive bringing in the young and satisfying the older crowd at the same time. Not an easy task.

In the end, however, the family remains intact, ever dedicated to the lofty goals of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, which is indeed a beacon of pride for the entire county.

Special honorees this year included donors Jane and Jim Driscoll, Nancy and Rick Muth, and Lido Isle’s glamorous and indefatigable “hostess with the mostess” Margaret Larkin escorted by her husband, Tom Larkin. Also honored for their generosity were Roger Kirwan, General William Lyon and his wife, Wila Dean, the Merage Family, and the Automobile Club of Southern California, led by center board Chairman Thomas McKernan, who was joined by his wife, Judy McKernan. Valaree and Bob Wahler and Janis Agopian along with Pat Poss and Carol Wilken all received kudos for their valiant efforts helping to underwrite the evening.

Spotted in the crowd were Susan and Tim Strader, Eve Kornyei, Jan and Mike Salta, Joyce and Tom Tucker, Barbara and Jim Glabman, Ronnie and Byron Allumbaugh, Sally and Randy Crockett, Leslie and Dino Cancellieri, Bette and Wylie Aitken, Sandy and John Daniels, Jean Moriarty, Carole and Robert Follman, and center President Terry Dwyer and his wife, Amy.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.