Ahoy, Mateys! Avast me hearties!
“You are invited to join us for a swashbuckling evening of dinner and dancing at the 2016 Special Olympics VIP Dinner and Dance on Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Veterans Memorial Community Center.”
So read the invitation, which labeled the event, “A Pirate’s Life for Me.”
The place was awash with some very well-turned-out pirates like Kristine Mollenkopf, a winsome wench in costume. Truth be told, I didn’t recognize her.
Likewise, I was taken aback when told that a scruffy-looking fellow was—arghhh—Dale Johnson. (Please note: “arghhh” is a favored utterance of the seagoing brigands.) Dale revealed that the costume he was wearing was not rented—it was from his own collection. “When you belong to breakfast Rotary,” he said, “you have to be prepared.”
Two especially well-costumed buccaneers were Olivia and Marco Vargas. Her full-feathered hat would have done Blackbeard proud.
A number of waiters wore pirate tricorn hats. (But no one had a parrot on his or her shoulder. Blimey!) Many of the waiters were from the intrepid breakfast Rotary Club, which makes it a policy not to miss much in the nonprofit world.
Breakfast Rotary President Shannon Seifert proclaimed herself official photographer and had a lot of fun playfully taking pictures of her fellow club members, like Jean Luc Garon, who sporadically sported an eye patch or two.
Three hundred—landlubbers included—came to enjoy the fun. Tickets were $100 and included dinner, two drinks, a silent auction, and dancing to the band, Soul’d Out.
Testa Catering prepared a meal fit for plundering pirates of the Caribbean: filet and salmon served with West Indies curry rice pilaf and roasted tri-colored baby carrots, followed by rum cake with rum sauce and Citronge-infused whipped cream.
The five-star decorations were impressive. The Veterans Memorial Community Center is a huge, cavernous space (which is why it’s used for big events). Creating a welcoming ambience is a daunting challenge. Dark charcoal carpets were extracted from the center’s storage room and laid over the wooden floor. What an amazing transformative effect.
The decorations were too many and too diverse for me to describe here, but it must be mentioned that there was something on the stage that produced faux flames—very dramatic and eye-catching.
Abel Maldonado was among the crowd, as were Sheriff Bill and Donna Brown, state Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian with wife Araxie, and City Councilwoman Terri Zuniga with husband Alex.
Others attracted to the event were Dr. Roland Miller, Dr. Michael Moats, Marjorie Gjerdrum, Sally Sheehy, Agnes Grogan, Patti Kirchhoff, Frank and Patti Elswick, and Jared and Karen Bailey.
Dr. Norman and Mary Louise Hoffman shared a table with family members Laura and Paul.
Tyler Dickinson was one of an army of much-needed, much-appreciated volunteers of all ages. A veteran of several Special Olympics fundraisers, the young man told me, “I love this event.”
Teresa Reyburn, 2016 VIP committee member, also loved this event. “It raises a lot of money for us [Special Olympics],” she said.
Other committee members were Alex Posada, Cindy Hoskins, Linda Smith, Wendy Hudson, Rudy Gutierrez, Rae Seifert, David Rodriquez, and Nicolas Chavez.
Readers will be relieved to learn that no one had to walk the plank.
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Feb 18-25, 2016.