Nov 5, 2007

Annual Shopping Benefit gone to dogs

By Janet Duca Norton / Society Columnist

The Shopping Benefit is one of Bloomingdale's biggest shopping days of the year.

"Bloomingdale's Stanford is very fortunate to partner with so many wonderful charities in the community," Bloomingdale's public relations manager Linette Leong said. "This year we celebrated our 11th annual Shopping Benefit with a full day of fun events and shopping - and all for a great cause."

The Oct. 25 event attracted about 1,500 shoppers and raised $30,000 for seven local charities - Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, Family and Children Services, Family Service Agency of San Mateo County, Palo Alto Art Foundation, TheatreWorks, Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA, and Peninsula Volunteers.

Highlights of the daylong event were a Halloween fashion show by the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, a chance to meet award-winning senior anchor for "KRON 4 Weekend Morning News" Ysabel Duron, a book signing by best-selling design author Diane Dorrans Saeks at a reception for the Peninsula Volunteers, and the debut of the "Juicy Crittoure" line of canine care products at the Peninsula Humane Society's "Doggy Cocktail Hour."

Peninsula Volunteers members Nancy Greenbach, Huguette Bartels and president Mary Young were among the guests who had Saeks sign their copies of "Palm Springs Living," a book featuring a century of Palm Springs' unique creativity and style. Cancer survivor Duron, who founded Latinas Contra Cancer, also took home an autographed book.

The crowd of dogs and their owners at the "Doggy Cocktail Hour" was so big Scott Delucchi of the Peninsula Humane Society and Janelle Marie from KGO Channel 7 set up two games of doggy musical chairs. Everyone was all smiles as contestants walked the runway to "Stayin' Alive." Winning the title of "Best Sitter" for the rounds of musical chairs were Martini (wearing a black top hat) and his owners Helen and Jerry Lustig, and Sidney and his owners Valerie and Joe Hubachek.

COOKBOOKS SOLD AT CHC BENEFIT

Foodies, cookbook collectors and loyal supporters of the Children's Health Council celebrated the opening night of the three-day "Cooks 'n Books" benefit with a preview celebrity chef champagne reception and food sampling on Oct. 19. The party was so much fun some people ended the evening with spontaneous dancing in the foyer to the music of Ken Brown and Friends.

About 150 guests turned out to shop and sample special cuisine prepared by Larry Chu of Chef Chu's, Jan Berner, Annie Noonan and Javier Cruz of Playa Catering at the Children's Health Council facility in Palo Alto.

Several of the books sold that evening were historic treasures, including a World War II cookbook with ration coupons, a "Nancy Drew" cookbook and a souvenir book from Alice's Restaurant in Woodside.

The highest-priced book was "Les Diners de Gala" by Salvador Dali's wife Gala, which featured photographs of Dali in restaurant scenes. Bill Peil and Dana Claric made the winning bid on this unique piece of history.

Honorary chair Jean Lane and her husband, former Australian ambassador and former owner of Sunset magazine Bill Lane, had fun sampling canapes from the magazine's test kitchen. Bill took pictures of Stephanie Dean and April Cooper as they prepared fig and goat cheese pitas, and purchased a 1939 barbecue book he didn't yet have in his collection. Terry Kurfess, Children's Health Council director, found a perfect present for her mother, a 1910 cookbook from the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

Guests included Andrea Johnston, Larry Schwab, Larry Coy, Grace Vitale, and Mark and Maggie Cogdill.

Co-chairwomen Marcia Coy and Connie West of the Children's Health Council Auxiliary were thrilled the first-time event, featuring more than 5,000 books, grossed in excess of $22,000.

Funds raised benefited the financial aid program for the Children's Health Council, which provides assessment and treatment services for children and adolescents with emotional, developmental, behavioral and educational problems.

SURPRISE PARTY FOR GENTRY FOUNDER

Dressed in "safari chic," 70 family members and friends attended a surprise birthday party titled "Call of the Wild" for Gentry magazine founder Elsie Floriani.

Her husband Ron Wendt planned the perfect surprise. Elsie thought she was attending a benefit salute to her friend Joan Earhart at the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino on Oct. 19. Instead, Floriani was the star of a fun party that featured some of her favorite things: her friends and family, an Italian tenor, and much more, including a female gorilla, a Howard Cosell look-a-like, and a fun roast by her close friends and business partners Sloane Citron and Rick Acquaviva.

"It's overwhelming how you fooled me for so long," Floriani said to her husband. Wendt's enigmatic smile said it all. (He could give pointers to the CIA and the FBI on how to run a covert operation.)

Floriani's children Daniele and Michele Floriani and Cristina Nangle saluted her with a beautifully written piece titled "A Woman Worth Writing About." They used the format she uses in her monthly musings in Gentry.

Guests toasting the birthday girl included Sandy Mozart, Barbara Alden, Wilf and Sigrun Corrigan, Helen and Larry Chew, Judith and Beryl Bragg, and Roz and Merv Morris.

E-mail Janet Duca Norton at society@paloaltodailynews.com.