So, you may be asking, what’s happening? What has been going on in Santa Maria?
Quite a bit, actually, despite the sizzling temperatures, and the urge to sit in the shade and sip ice-cold beverages.
On Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, from noon to 4 p.m., socially and fashionably inclined ladies flocked to the Elks Lodge for the annual “Glitz and Glam Fashion Show,” an annual fundraiser sponsored by Altrusa International of Golden Valley.
Spokesperson Jackie Brunello told me that attendance was more than double last year’s.
Tickets were $35 and included complimentary wine at the Elks’ bar, a Chinese auction, and lunch, which was a pleasant departure from the usual—a make-your-own sandwich buffet with croissants, deli meats, and potato salad.
Desserts were a chocoholic’s dream come true: a table full of chocolate delights, made by or brought by Altrusa members. We are talking chocolate cake, chocolate brownies, chocolate and chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-covered strawberries, and See’s Candies’ fast-to-disappear confections.
Modeling clothes, which were mostly from Macy’s, were Melinda Aguirre, Virginia Bauer, Lisa Brunello, Judy Hearn, Deanna Jones, Sandi Miller, Teresa Reyburn, Clarissa and Gabriela Nagy, Vonnie Stewart, Marisol Zepeda, and City Councilperson Terri Zuniga.
I stopped to chat with Minerva Club members Angie Engelbrecht, Merilyn Garcin, Charlotte Ochoa, and Joey Wilson.
Among the guests were two from Los Angeles: Maria Robb’s childhood friend, Sister Mary Magdalene Acuna, O.D.F., and her friend, Sister Leticia Rodriguez, O.S.F.
The day before the Glitz and Glam affair, (Saturday evening, Aug. 15), there was more action on a runway—this time the models were dogs parading on behalf of the Humane Society at the annual “Hoedown for the Hounds” held at the Veterans’ Memorial Community Center.
The star of the show and the major canine fashionista was a dark standard poodle (a large dog) that had red accents on the end of its tail and on other poodle places for which I do not know the correct name.
This event, sponsored by the nighttime Altrusa group, and chaired by Betty Baxter, included a tri-tip dinner prepared by the American Legion, acoustic guitar music, and a silent auction.
Aug. 15 was the same date as Allan Hancock College’s annual Joe White dinner (sold out!) at the Santa Maria Fairpark, so there was some weekend competition for attendees.
This past Saturday, the Humane Society held its annual rummage sale in the parking lot of its facility on Stowell Road. Despite the hefty winds, it was fun to hang out.
It has been a while since I have seen Virginia DeBolt, who was in the process of adopting a roommate. Virginia is not the only new dog owner in town—I read on the news board that 31 dogs had been adopted in the month of August.
Alas, not all Hobnobbing news is good.
I must confess that in my last column, I attributed the very successful and fun Kiwanis Dino’s Martini Lounge fundraiser event held on Aug. 7 to the wrong Kiwanis group. It was the Noontime Kiwanis that did the deed. I also underreported the attendance, which was a hefty 230-plus attendees.
To those who are asking “How could you make such egregious errors?” I can only say, sometimes there is traffic congestion in a writer’s brain, connections misfire, and mistakes happen. Apologies to the Noontime Kiwanis.
If you want to hobnob with Helen, you may contact her at helenthom232@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Sep 3-10, 2015.