Guess who came to dinner: lots of power couples from all over town, as well as the Orcutt Children’s Art Foundation (OCAF) regulars—parents, school administrators, teachers, and supporters of the arts.
And then there was the very sociable president of the Santa Barbara Foundation, Ron Gallo, and wife Andrea, who hosted a table. Included in the SBF line-up were Eric and Judy Frost.
Miz Frost is Santa Maria’s former rep on the foundation’s board. The once-upon-a-time managing director of PCPA is now president of that prestigious body.
Another prominent Santa Barbarian who traveled north for the evening was county district attorney Joyce Dudley. Got to give that gal credit—she makes it a point to hobnob with us North County-ites. And she does like to make a splash on the dance floor.
According to OCAF’s VP of development, Brenda Sullens, attendance at the eighth annual Winter Gala on Saturday evening, Feb. 12, was down about 20 percent from last year. Sullens attributed the drop in tickets sold to stiff competition on the social calendar.
“But we did okay,” she said, clearly pleased with the silent and live auction results.
Chris Slaughter, OCAF mother hen emeritus, emceed. She praised the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society for its work bringing music to students in the area. Each year, OCAF traditionally honors a person or organization that enhances the lives of local students. This year, ’twas the Philharmonic.
With heartfelt remarks, executive director George Majoue accepted the recognition on behalf of the Philharmonic Society. (BTW, the versatile and ebullient Majoue is also a pianist, singer, and cook.)
A video (narrated by the late Ailene Baichtal) about the Philharmonic’s music van illustrated the impact of the van in the schools. We saw Nancy Converse literally tooting her own horn as she demonstrated various instruments to spellbound youngsters.
Because of the Philharmonic’s outreach program, a sizeable student audience recently attended a free “Peter and the Wolf” concert. It is because of the Philharmonic’s impact on arts education that the group was this year’s OCAF honoree.
When is the last time you heard a harpist? OCAF Gala guests had that privilege during check-in.
Classy music certainly was the theme of the evening. During cocktail and silent auction bidding hour, a string quartet provided background entertainment. After the live auction, a brass quartet charmed the guests.
The band “Unfinished Business” finished off the night with the kind of dance music that burns calories. Nimble-footed city councilman Jack Boysen and wife Kathy obviously enjoyed that part of the evening.
I shared a table with Alan Majewski of the Orcutt School District (who was also present on the podium as a presenter) and Peggy and Larry Greer, as well as OCAF president Denise Core, and the very svelte Hannah Rubalcava, OCAF executive director. Looking good, Hannah!
Dr. Joe Slaughter celebrated his birthday by making auctioneer Jim Settles happy. Joe is no slouch when it comes to bidding. Jim, by the way, did a crackerjack job of filling in for auctioneer Todd Ventura.
Trattoria Uliveto’s Alphonse Curti with wife Amy, Philharmonic Board president Dr. Richard Ontell and Ruth Ann, and banker Mike Sell and wife Wendy Thies (former KSBY anchorwoman) were among the crowd.
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 3, 2011.