The Crowd: Newport Beach CC clubhouse completion celebrated
The dawning of a new era of the good life in Newport Beach was celebrated with a ribbon cutting June 18 to welcome the completion of the fabulous rising of the Newport Beach Country Club, which for more than 60 years has been a social watering hole for the coastal community.
The impressive clubhouse structure containing some 60,000 square feet has been designed as an architectural testament to the Craftsman style that found its home on the California coast in the early part of the 20th century.
It also has been infused with a modern sensibility, encompassing enormous walls of glass that take in vistas of the Pacific Coast as well as the surrounding greens of the club’s 18-hole, 71-par golf course.
The project has been a labor of love and significant financial investment for the ownership, led by Richard Pickup, Todd Pickup and Kevin Martin, along with a close-knit group of investors. Their passion has been to create an unparalleled community resource, a social center and Newport Beach landmark that will serve the community for decades to come.
Mayor Diane Dixon joined Todd Pickup, Martin, Kory Kramer and club General Manager Casey Kaut for the ceremonial launch last week. Speeches were brief as the crowd of local dignitaries applauded the inauguration of Newport’s new cool, coastal, California-oriented country club. A lavish cocktail reception followed that was catered by the club’s new signature dining room Seahorse, which recognizes of the historic trademark symbol of the organization.
A must-see at Segerstrom Center
A few days remain for the current run of “The Sound of Music,” now playing at Segerstrom Hall. The show runs through July 31 and crowds are raving, calling it the best revival of the classic musical to come along in years.
A very young Kerstin Anderson stars as Maria Rainer in the Broadway production, which features a marvelous ensemble cast primarily starring Ben Davis as Capt. Georg von Trapp, Melody Betts as Mother Abbess, and an outstanding troupe of supporting players. The talented Anderson in the title role, in addition to sharing her beautiful and commanding voice, creates a magical chemistry with Davis. This is the kind of onstage chemistry that is rare in a traveling production featuring non-celebrity performers in major roles.
Segerstrom Hall has been packed with appreciative audiences, many of whom have been families with children experiencing the show with yet another generation. Next up on the Segerstrom Center for the Arts roster is another musical classic, “Cabaret,” which will debut Aug. 9 and will run through the 21st.
Catherine Emmi salutes late husband
James Emmi passed away May 14, one month shy of his 100th birthday. The Newport Beach businessman, yachtsman and philanthropist led a remarkable life and left the community. He touched many lives over his long run.
Emmi built his business from the ground up, beginning with very little and eventually prospering in both the engineering and real estate business arenas. A long first marriage to his late wife Velma would enable the couple to pursue world travels when success afforded the opportunity. Important for Jim Emmi was the ability to sail his treasured and award-winning yacht, Pele, which he birthed at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar.
Later in life Emmi met his second love, Catherine. The pair married. Jim was 81, Catherine considerably younger, and they set off on what would be a nearly 20-year, nonstop adventure. Catherine brought unstoppable energy into Jim’s life. She also introduced him to community involvement.
The couple became major benefactors to many charities, most notably and passionately the Pacific Symphony, which was a perfect fit for Jim Emmi’s lifelong love of music.
In the months before he passed, Catherine and her son, Cameron Pierce, had been planning a lavish 100th birthday event for Jim. They booked the entire Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a cocktail party and formal dinner, inviting hundreds of guests. Jim didn’t make it.
In typical Catherine Emmi “unstoppable, unsinkable Molly Brown” style, the party went on. So on the night of June 23, Catherine — attired in an elegant, bejeweled and lace-trimmed white summer Badgley Mischka floor-length gown on the arm of her escort son — welcomed some 500 guests to a cocktail reception and a four-course dinner. With it multiple came acts of entertainment from the Hutchins Consort, members of the Pacific Symphony and pianist and entertainer Jimmy Vann.
Among Catherine Emmi’s VIP guests were the BCYC’s Bill and Nancy Long; General Manager of Balboa Bay Club Malcolm Smith and his lovely new bride Maria Elena; former Hollywood starlet Kathy Thompson and husband Jerry Thompson; president of SCFTA Terry Dwyer; philanthropist and symphony benefactor William Gillespie; major UC Irvine and Chapman donor Loretta Haugen, in from Scottsdale; close gal-pal Karen Knotts, daughter of the late comedian Don Knotts; Sarajane Barthlomae; former Newport Major Ed Selich and his wife Lynn; U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher; and prominent BCYC yachtsman Barry and Nancy Levy.
The crowd dined on a spectacular four-course dinner of filet and sea bass at tables adorned with verdant centerpieces of blue, violet and crème blossoms. Entertainers had the crowd dancing until midnight as toasts were made in memory of Jim Emmi.
Olympians at Balboa Bay Resort
The trendy A & O Kitchen + Bar on the waterfront at the Balboa Bay Resort recently welcomed the U.S. women’s senior national water polo team all ready to head to Rio and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
A packed crowd of well-wishers converged in the bar for a meet-and-greet sponsored by Balboa Bay Club and its general manager, Malcolm Smith. One of the star players is Kaleigh Gilchrist, who grew up in Newport and has been a lifelong participant in many aquatic programs at the BBC.
Another local squad member is Maddie Musselman, a 2016 Corona del Mar High School grad, who’s joining young women from La Jolla to Santa Barbara and some from Northern California, including Danville’s Maggie Steffens and Melissa Seidemann from Walnut Creek.
The local Newport crowd enjoyed A & O appetizers and cocktails while chatting with players and coaches, including head coach Adam Krikorian, assistants Dan Klatt and Chris Oeding, and team manager Jen Adams with sports medicine manager Larnie Boquiren.
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B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.
