The Crowd: Community works for KidWorks

The first annual KidWorks Classic Golf Tournament took over the greens at Aliso Viejo Country Club this week, raising more than $90,000 for the educational enrichment programs of an Orange County organization that impacts the lives of underprivileged youth in significant ways all throughout the year.

KidWorks, led by the super-dedicated Ava Steaffens, joined forces with an impressive list of civic and corporate sponsors supporting the golf tournament in a big way. At the top of the list were Steve Craig and Citadel Outlets, Payday Workforce Solutions, CBRE, Wells Fargo Bank, Paul Capital, Deloitte and Toyota Financial Services, to name only a few.

The impressive list of Orange County businessmen and women took over the greens with a contingent of celebrity players from the world of sports, including Paul McDonald, Brandon Hancock, Thomas Williams, Wayne Cook, Matt Stevens and Laird Hayes.

Super OC philanthropist Sandy Daniels was also front and center for KidWorks, along with the folks from Fletcher Jones Motorcars and Donahue Schriber, who have been a mainstay of support for the organization for many years.

Share Our Selves held its 20th annual Wild & Crazy Taco Night attracting some 675 guests sampling the exotic and unusual tacos prepared by 23 of the OC’s most celebrated chefs. The taco party held at their Costa Mesa headquarters netted over $70,000, which will go to support the SOS Orange Aid Project, which feeds residents of the county at risk of going hungry.

Major sponsors of the Wild & Crazy Taco Night include Taco Bell Corporation, Hoag Hospital Foundation, Bob and Anne Cress, Frome Family Foundation, Thompson Family Foundation and Dr. Richard and Sandra Haskell, to name only a few. Committee members deserving praise include Elizabeth Evans, Karen McGlinn, Cindy Tuch, Julie Larson, Minnie Ballard, Gaye Besler, Sheri Blackwood, Shannon Burns, Lynn Gosselin, Helen Kinsey, Katie Santore and Debbie Springer.

The multitalented Lee Healy invited the culinary world of Orange County to an elegant spring luncheon in the private dining room of Pinot Provence at the Westin South Coast Plaza. The first-class affair was a celebration of the publication of the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of the OC’s Taste Magazine, sponsored by South Coast Plaza, which has become a culinary bible of sorts for dining on the California Riviera.

Senior management at South Coast Plaza, including Anton Segerstrom, David Grant and Debra Gunn Downing, joined Healy in welcoming one of America’s most celebrated chefs, Joachim Splichal, founder of the Patina Group, along with his chef de cuisine, Alfonso Ramirez, and the GM of Pinot Provence, Chad Sisco. The impressive lineup treated the crowd to a magnificent four-course luncheon that began with a duck salad, followed by a spectacular spring risotto, a main course of lamb rib-eye and loup de mer and finally a dessert of mascarpone panna cotta.

One of the VIP guests in the Taste Magazine crowd was Newport personality Chef Jamie Gwen. The gorgeous blond chef-on-the-radio took over Bristol Farms’ café in Corona del Mar Plaza on Monday for what Gwen and partners labeled as a “Jam Session.” Gwen and business partner Lana Sills invited the crowd for a late afternoon sampling of Gwen’s line of sweet jams. The Monday gathering featuring flowing champagne and sweet and savory treats, which Gwen is calling “In A Jam” jams. Gwen shared recipes with the crowd from her new line, which will be featured in upscale markets.

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County debuted its 2013 Philharmonic House of Design at a spectacular opening showcase event April 20 in Coto de Caza. The Tucsan villa, set on more than two acres, attracted a large turnout of Newport-Mesa who’s-who for the opening soiree showcasing the work of highly regarded interior designers, including John Wallace Benecke, Gary Finley, Jennifer Nicole Anderson, Frank Pitman and Hal Swanson and Dan Ollis to name only a few.

The annual event raises funds for the Philharmonic Society’s youth music education programs. The open house will run through May 19 with tickets priced at $40 for general admission. To find out more, visit https://www.philharmonicsociety.org/HOD.

THE CROWD runs Fridays. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.