Porchlight Theatre Company and the Ross Valley Players teamed up for a benefit at the Marin Art & Garden Center. More than 100 guests were treated to the wit and wisdom of Oscar Wilde with a performance of A Wild Wilde Night, created and directed by Ann Brebner and featuring actor members of the Porchlight Theatre Company.
The non-profit hospice and palliative care provider Hospice By The Bay said “thank you” to more than 80 of its most loyal benefactors at the Mary Taverna Quality of Life Circle reception in its Larkspur office.
The San Francisco Boys Chorus held a spring gala at the St Regis Hotel in San Francisco. The group celebrated an extraordinary season, having just returned from a performance at the Presidential Inauguration, where six boys from Marin participated in the event.
The Green Chamber of Commerce held its first Marin County business mixer, hosted by Crome Architecture and Tortoise Shell Design Systems. Community members got together to learn about green products, meet others in the environmental field and talk to other eco-conscious people.
At the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA) guests socialized at the Mix, an event featuring the exhibition Gord Peteran: Furniture Meets Its Maker and Donald Fortescue: Genius Loci. The event included an interactive art project modeled after signature pieces by Gord Peteran.
At the San Francisco Ballet’s opening night Russian Treasures themed gala, guests attended one of the four black-tie fundraising dinners and a performance of ten classical and contemporary works.
The 13th annual Marin Valentine’s Ball, which raised over $220,000 for the North Bay Children’s Center, Sunny Hills Services, The Godmothers of Timothy Murphy School and Whistlestop, was a black tie extravaganza co-chaired by Susan Gilmore and Nannette Griswold.
The Mill Valley Community Center played host to WildCare’s annual gala, which raised funds for a full range of programs in wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education, as well as the Wildlife Solutions and Living with Wildlife Hotline.
At the Next Key Center in Novato, Homeward Bound of Marin held the West Coast Inaugural Ball, which included catering by Fresh Starts Catering, a social enterprise venture of Homeward Bound, and live music, as well as a life-size stand-up photo of the honoree, President Barack Obama, for some fun photos. Proceeds from the evening benefited Homeward Bound’s programs for homeless adults and families.
Over 420 attendees danced and dined at the Marin Civic Center exhibit hall, which was magically transformed by Hartmann Studios to A Night in Old Shanghai. At Marin Charitable Association’s annual awards ceremony, 48 agencies supporting youth-at-risk were the recipients of various awards totaling $150,000.
The Opera Celebration benefit at the Osher Marin JCC was a success with over 175 people present. The afternoon raised proceeds to support the Jewish Community Center’s music programs.
The Marin County Bicycle Coalition parted with tradition last year and replaced the Big Bike Bash with the Bikers Ball to celebrate the group’s ten-year anniversary. Two hundred guests helped MCBC celebrate at Servino Ristorante in Tiburon and the dance band Vinyl kept the crowd moving.
Over 250 community leaders and families gathered to celebrate 60 years of service by the Blind Babies Foundation. The evening, emceed by Marinite Cheryl Jennings, was filled with laughter, delicious food, inspiring speeches and concluded with dancing and music by the California School for the Blind Jazz Ensemble.
Oenophiles and gourmands headed to Nick's Cove and Cottages in Marshall for a Pey-Marin and Mount Tamalpais Vineyards "Grown in Marin" dinner. Chef Adam Mali created dishes from meats, fish and produce grown in Marin, including wild mushrooms on toast, crab cakes, halibut sashimi and more.
Over 100 guests sipped on organic wine and beer at the Chic for a Cause: Stop the Spray fundraiser. The event's fashion show opened with botanical couture by Theron Nelson including bikinis made from grass, twigs and flowers; recycled denim looks from Love, Melody Originals; and more. Organic boutiques Tela D and Eco Citizen also showcased eco-friendly labels.
At Reed School's annual Regatta Fundraiser, parents and supporters enjoyed the Viva Las Vegas theme to support the Foundation for Reed Schools' goal to underwrite music, technology, foreign language, physical education and art classes for Tiburon public schools.
Art Works Downtown held its annual fundraiser ArtRageous, a Warhol-themed event, which raises money for public programs.
The University of San Francisco hosted the first annual California Prize Dinner at the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco. The award was presented to entrepreneur Lynn Fritz, founder of the Fritz Institute, a nonprofit that improves both the preparation for disasters and the operational effectiveness of disaster relief organizations.
Nearly 700 attendees and headliners Robin Williams and Dana Carvey made the Comedy for Kids with Autism benefit at the Regency Center an unforgettable night. Adding to the night's success were Sammy Hagar and Lawrence Goldfarb, who surprised the audience when they jumped onstage and each pledged $50,000 to Oak Hill School and the Ryder Foundation. Marin County's Oak Hill School provides an integrated therapeutic education for children with autism and other developmentally based learning challenges.
Recently, the San Francisco Symphony Opening Gala Committee and event chairman Karen Jung hosted a gala launch party at the Weinstein Gallery in Union Square. Also in preparation for the gala, committee members along with symphony musician Rob Weir sampled items from the gala's opening night menu at McCall and Associates.
At the Four Seasons Hotel and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, over 200 guests, including artistic director Helgi Tomasson, board of trustees member Dick Barker and executive director Glenn McCoy, attended the San Francisco Ballet student showcase.
In recent months, grand opening celebrations were held around the bay. Bank of Marin celebrated its grand opening of the new downtown Mill Valley office on Sunnyside Avenue with branch manager Heidi Duckor and Bank of Marin president and CEO Russell Colombo.
Larkspur Hotel Union Square celebrated its reopening with cocktails, live jazz music and a charity raffle. Formerly the Cartwright hotel, Larkspur Hotel Union Square has been renovated with new furnishings and decor.
Fashionable locals headed to the grand opening party of the John Varvatos Boutique on Maiden Lane in San Francisco.
In Napa, Norman and Norah Stone welcomed friends and art world notables to an encore opening of their Stonescape property. Guests viewed the current installation in the couple's art cave and those who swam in the pool were treated to the James Turrell Skyspace art piece, which is located in the pool and can be experienced only by swimming underwater.
Sales manager Dan Stephan and factory representatives from Aston Martin welcomed guests to the launch of the new DBS, the same car that James Bond will be driving in the new 007 film Quantum of Solace.
Also in Marin, locals enjoyed the third annual Marin Arts Salon at the California Closets showroom in San Rafael. The weekly salons featured emerging artists, performers and designers as well as wine from Imagery Estate Winery and Kunde Estate Winery and hors d'oeuvres by All Seasons Catering.
At SFMOMA's recent art auction more than 100 lots of contemporary paintings, photography, and sculpture were presented to bidders. The museum garnered more than $1.2 million in proceeds to support exhibitions and education programs, making the auction one of the most successful in the museum's history.
Fashionable Marinites celebrated the grand opening of Corte Madera's Juicy Couture with perfectly pink macaroons, champagne and shopping.
