The Crowd: Vikings descend on Bay Club for charity
What is summer in Newport without a great beach party?
The Noble Viking Charities, a fraternity of local gents, answered that question with style, throwing their annual summer beach bash. A sold-out crowd of more than 200 guests converged upon the beach and lawn of The Balboa Bay Club & Resort for a night under the stars with dinner and dancing by the shore.
Executive Chef Josef Lageder and his culinary team served a duet of beef tenderloin and Atlantic salmon accompanied by wines donated by Bianchi Vineyards. The “Reef Brothers,” a local Newport band provided the perfect musical backdrop for the party.
Upon arrival at The Bay Club, guests were asked to purchase an envelope for a $50 donation. Each envelope contained a gift certificate valued at a minimum of $40 and greater. More than 100 envelopes, each with a surprise gift certificate, sold out before sunset as the crowd shared cocktail conversation and compared their good fortune in the envelopes.
Fun aside; it all goes for a serious cause. Benefiting from the generosity of the Vikings are local non-profits such as Civic Center Barrio Housing, Homefront America, INC, Pio Pico Elementary School, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Ana, Tustin, Harbor Area and San Juan Capistrano.
Also served by the Vikings are Latino Health Access, Saint Michael’s Society, Creer Comunidad y Familia, and The Orangewood Children’s Foundation. In addition, each year during the holiday season Viking Charities provides Christmas dinner for an estimated 11,200 local citizens. Some 500 volunteers assist in preparing the 1400 dinner baskets which are distributed to folks in need.
Dedicated Vikings (some without helmets and horns) enjoying a summer evening on The BBC beach were John Postma and Kristilyn Goff, Wayne and Sherry Smith, Dave and Lilly Dabov, Rick Evanich and Trish Keefner, Larry and Tammy Noggle, Frank and Michele Di Bella, Steve and Michelle Holbert and U.S. Navy Captain Michael Argo and his wife Margaret. Ron and Liz Williams were also spotted in the crowd along with Rick and Mary Scott, Joe Soto, Mike Russell, Teri Hausman, and Henry and Carol Schielein.
THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.
