Pavilion XXII at Tampa Museum of Art

They swear Pavilion XXII was the last of the white-tie galas hosted at the “old” Tampa Museum of Art to support the city’s art collection. Of course, we've heard that before. But now demolition nears and blueprints hang on the wall, with naming opportunities galore. The new museum is supposed to be open by 2009, just yards away, on the edge of waterfront Curtis Hixon Park.

The theme Saturday (Nov. 10) was  “Imagine…” and dared guests to conjure the future. A woman floating in a giant bubble in a fountain was supposed to lend inspiration.

   

Long synonymous with fabulous ballgowns, the most expensive auction offerings and elaborate decorations, (remember Pavilion VIII’s Ringling Bros. circus elephants and trapeze artists in 1988?) Pavilion 2007 was scaled down in anticipation of demolition. Much of the collection is packed and the staff laid off.

Still, with tickets starting at $600, chairwoman Sandy Juster wearing midnight blue Ralph Lauren and hubby/co-chair Floyd Juster strived for elegance to carry forth the tradition. (Northern Trust table sprang for white-tie-and-tails for all the men at their table.)

   

The huge white tent covered the cement slab courtyard; white spandex-covered tables and chairs shimmered; centered with bowls of calla lilies from KaBloom. Capital Grille served aged sirloin and poached king. Atlanta-based band Complete Desire made themselves scarce during dinner; waiting until everyone finished the dense chocolate espresso cake to rock out.

Nice to see new faces, like Suzanne and Roger Perry, thoroughbred bred horse breeders from Ocala and Lexington, now of Hyde Park. Her friend, Elaine Mellis came from San Francisco for the party.

The Perrys were presenting sponsors this year. Last year's sponsors Erika and Don Wallace apparently changed their minds about future support. Nor did Mayor Pam Iorio make the scene, and she ran on a campaign dedicated to the arts.

A South Seas pearl ring set in diamonds from Suzanne's couture jewelry line fetched $8,000 in the live auction. Ironically, a private cooking session with Chef Gregory Zakarian was bought by .... his brother-in-law, Joe Williams or $3,000. Two Havanese puppies sold to Pat and Calvin Carter for $3,300.

         

Some of the partiers stayed till midnight, lounging in an adjacent tent set with sofas and a bar. Some, like Rex Farrior and William Sultenfuss slipped out through Kiley Park to Malios to watch the Gators beat the Gamecocks.

No word on how much money Pavilion made. My phone calls to the museum haven't been returned all week.

Council Oak opens

What a random mix of faces Thursday night at Council Oak’s preview dinner at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. There was a Bucs table, and some Premier Beverage folks, but mostly you just had to be lucky to get that invitation. And when dining at a casino, what else do you need but luck?

  Luck, and a big appetite for enormous salt-cured steaks from the in-house butcher shop and even larger lobsters and fresh Alaskan crab legs.

 

They also partied at the bar with those "Bad Boys of the Bering Sea" -  Capt. Johnathon Hillstrand, Capt. Andy Hillstrand and Capt, Phil Harris, the Discovery Channel 's Deadliest Catch crew who brave treacherous high seas doing one of the deadliest — and most lucrative — jobs in the world: catching Alaksan crab for you and me.

    

  So, you want to know who were some of those who made the cut: Randy and Kelly Feldman, Debra Williams & Gary McDaniel, Marie and Francis Williams, Amy and Chris Nicolas, Craig and Georgia Cox, Erika and Don Wallace, Ryan Nece and a bunch of other Bucs,

Janet and Steve Rifkin, Ken Walters, Tom Lee, Dan Tapia, Shari Mezrah and Carrie Cohen, Cheryl and Waylon Nelson. Etc, Etc, Etc.

 

Art of Helping Children

             Artist Michael Israel leaped, splattered and splashed paint on huge canvases creating portraits to rock music, then auctioning them at the ninth annual Art of Helping Children Gala benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay.

The crowd of 400 clapped and sang along to the Beatles, amazed at Israel’s “art in concert.” The talented showman spun the canvas to paint upside down and sideways, until John Lennon’s face emerged.

At $7,000, Ohio residents Marikay Buchanan and Greg Hall were high bidders and got first pick of the four portraits Israel painted Saturday night. They chose Lennon.
                                    

The Statue of Liberty appeared next, as Neil Diamond’s Coming to America and James Brown’s Living in America rocked A La Carte Pavilion.

Tampa Police Capt. Hugh Miller, second highest bidder at $5,500, chose that one. Israel wiped his hands on his tuxedo and painted Stevie Wonder and Bono to their hit songs, and brought in $6,000 more.
    

In all, organizers expect the evening to bring in $100,000 for one-on-one mentoring to more than 2,200 children in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.

Israel returns Oct. 27 for another BBBS benefit, this one at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $70 but you can get them half off on www.bbbsfl.org.

How the West Was Wine

            Tampa Theatre staged another of its classic movie-themed tastings How the West was Wine  for a sold-out crowd Sept. 15, filling the historic cinema with samples from six of the bay area’s finest restaurants, dozens of wines and 400 film fans. Chairwoman Brooke Palmer figures they lassoed about $38,000 for the 80-year-old movie house.

        VIP tasters started at 7 when about 225 film fans, most dressed in Western comfort, had the theater to themselves for the first hour of top-shelf treats and premium wines as the classic movie played over the stage.

   At 8, another 200 hungry movie buffs whooshed in to dig into Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp; Capitol Grille’s Kobe beef carpaccio and Michael’s 717 South’s miso-cured tilapia.

 

  On the stage, Salt Rock Grill served chef Barry Spaulding's shrimp martinis.

Bern’s took over the balcony corridor to cook up rainbow trout on polenta and a Southwest shepherd’s pie made of barbecue shortribs on smoky mushroom potatoes and truffled sweet corn topped with pecan coleslaw.SideBern’s brought mole chocolate cake with cactus coulis and blue corn pudding.

   

'07-08 Social Calendar

Start shopping for that little black dress now: There are plenty of social events planned for season.

Find a complete list of social events in the Tampa area.

Lisa DeBartolo and Don Miggs

[Photo by Simone & Martin Photography]
A rock musician finds the love of his life in a photograph.

Read about Lisa DeBartolo and Don Miggs' love story.

Dueling Sinatra celebrations

    Soooo, which Sinatra party did you go to??

Ken Walter's 10th Celebrate Sinatra tribute at Centro Asturiano?

  Lisa Provvidenza, John Berry and Amber McCroklin party with Ken's crowd.

Kathy Zavadil, Angela Brock and Kim Berfield surround their host, Ken Walters.                                                                                                                                                    

      

   

or perhaps you went to Don Juceam's Frankly Sinatra fete at the Cuban Club?

           Love to hear your thoughts and see your pictures!

Route for romance

[Matt Gillis photo]

For three years, Debra Williams and Gary McDaniel Jr. would leave work early on Fridays to fly across the state to see each other every weekend.

   "We focused on work all week and on each other 24/3," McDaniel said.

Hours spent at airports were numbered after June 4, 2006, as Williams settled in to watch the season finale of The Sopranos. Her boyfriend seemed unusually nervous, she thought, as the show started.

Read more about their romance

Love does come to those who wait

And this couple are waiting once more, this time for the bride to join the groom at his Air Force base in Guam.

Read more about Staff Sgt. Karina Newton and Tech Sgt. Corey Myers and their story of love and patience

Photo: Staff Sgt. Karina Newton holds 4-year-old daughter Nia's hand as she and her new husband, Tech Sgt. Corey Myers, pose in the base chapel where they were married. He is holding Karina's younger daughter Nina, 2.

A wedding moment

What a photo .....

The story behind the photo:  Tropical Storm Barry had already soaked their June 2 wedding at Feather Sound Country Club. So when there was a break in the storm after the morning ceremony, newlyweds Joshua Lipton and Teresa Shipman heeded their photographer’s wishes to head out to the golf course. At one point, photographer Nathan Root of Orlando told them to stop for a shot and that the clouds were just right. And voila, a classic. “We both just flipped out when we saw it,” Joshua said. The couple met when they were both high school sophomores, Joshua at Gibbs High and Teresa at Boca Ciega High. “We’ve been together ever since,” Teresa said. Joshua will enter the Stetson University College of Law in the fall, and Teresa will pursue a doctorate in audiology at the University of South Florida.

Share your favorite  wedding pictures.