Alice and her fanciful friends joined the tea party to benefit Nat King Cole Generation Hope. Guests immersed themselves in the magical mayhem, sipping cocktails and savoring hors d’oeuvres while being amazed by fire dancers, stilt walkers and a one-of-a-kind balloon artist. ‘It makes the holiday a little sweeter knowing that we helped the organization’s mission of providing music education to children with the greatest need and fewest resources,’ said Catherine Warren, the resort’s spa and leisure director. ABOVE: AJ and Francesca Lewis. Photo provided by Brian Lester

More than 100 supporters of the Palm Beach Opera packed a VIP tent prior to the highly anticipated free concert and were greeted with champagne and sparkling water, then escorted to their seats for the show. Immediately following, they enjoyed a meet-and-greet with the artists and ate passed hors d’oeuvres. In all, a total of 1,000 guests came out to experience the 90-minute outdoor event.
RIGHT: (l-r) Suzanne Niedland, Daniel Biaggi and Marsha Laufer. Photo provided by Kelly Wagner

June Martino was Ray Kroc’s secretary and indispensable right hand at McDonald’s. Photo Provided

By Thom Smith

    The Founder, one of the year’s hottest movies, chronicles the exploits of Ray Kroc from hapless seller of milkshake makers to fast food phenom. Michael Keaton plays Kroc and, as often happens with Keaton, critics are raving. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a strong supporting cast with the likes of Nick Offerman, B.J. Novak and Laura Dern.
    And though you won’t find a Big Mac on The Island, the story has a Palm Beach connection: June Martino, played by Katie Kneeland. If the business world gave out Oscars, Martino would be shoo-in for supporting actress.
    Though she had no bookkeeping experience, Kroc hired Martino as his bookkeeper in 1948. But she evolved into the unofficial “vice president of equilibrium,” the glue that held the early McDonald’s organization together.
    In Behind the Arches, author John Love wrote: “Martino was a den mother to McDonald’s young managers. And while she got little formal recognition for that role, it made her perhaps the only universally liked executive in McDonald’s.”
    In 1963 she hired a broke Michael Quinlan, roommate of her son John at Loyola University in Chicago. In 1987 he was named president and CEO of McDonald’s.
    Kroc rewarded Martino with a stake in the company. She was worth millions when she retired in 1968. A decade later, she and husband Lou settled in Palm Beach. They bought the oceanfront lot formerly owned by car builder Horace Dodge and built a main house and five cottages with very un-Palm Beachy blue tile roofs.
    But it was the 7-foot-high perimeter wall that spurred occasional run-ins with town authorities. For several years in the late ’80s, her gardener, John Hochella, decorated the walls with paintings of Christmas and cartoon characters — Santa Claus, Garfield, Snow White and her dwarfs. That’s a no-no in Palm Beach, and the town ultimately planted 8-foot-tall sea grapes along North County Road to obstruct the view.
    “Spiteful and nasty,” Martino said of the town officials.
    In the early ’90s, the Martinos put the estate on the market for $7.5 million. Michael Jackson took a gander but said the 7-foot wall didn’t offer enough privacy. It sold in 1994 for $5.5 million.
    A big fan of classical music, Martino served as president of the Palm Beach Symphony and was its greatest patron, but as son John wrote after her death in 2005: “She did not usually give to big organizations, but to people of her own choosing. June worked hard, had an amazingly good life and she always did what she wanted most. She made a difference and left the world a better place.”   
                                 ***  
    For decades Bob Vila led viewers through televised renovations of bungalows and estates, row houses and ranches. But now “this old house” has a new meaning.
    Bob Vila was born in Miami. His father, an intelligence officer in the Cuban army, had moved the family to Florida at the end of World War II. They returned to the island in 1956, only to return to Florida as Fidel Castro built his revolution.
    Vila, 70, became a TV star on This Old House, and now calls Palm Beach home. He doubted he would ever see Cuba again, but even before former President Barack Obama began to open a dialogue with the Cuban government, Vila was on his way.
    Ironically, he was approached by the Finca Vigia Foundation to help restore the legacy of an American — but not just any American. The foundation is named for the 12-acre estate of Ernest Hemingway, and it has restored the house and the author’s iconic fishing boat, Pilar.
    The house is a museum, the most popular in Cuba. Vila, who co-chairs the foundation’s board, is helping to build a conservatory and archive storage center to restore and preserve thousands of documents, photos and manuscripts.  
    He’ll no doubt have lots of stories to tell Feb. 6 at the next Cultural Council of Palm Beach County’s Culture & Cocktails event at The Colony hotel. (Tickets, $65 advance, $75 door, 472-3330.)
                                 ***
    The Frost family has been in the wine business for more than six decades. As a youngster, David Frost hit his first golf balls between rows of grapes in his father’s vineyard in South Africa. With the money he made picking grapes, he bought his first set of clubs.
    Over the years he’s done very well with both. On Feb. 9, the night prior to the tee-off of the Allianz Championship at Broken Sound in Boca, David Frost Wines is a sponsor of the eighth annual Grapes of the Green — a party mingling wine, food and the opportunity to meet many of the competing pro golfers. (Tickets at www.grapes2017.eventbrite.com)
    Though the family has been making wine in South Africa for more than six decades, in 2010 Frost made Palm Beach County his home away, first renting in West Palm Beach and eventually buying in Delray Beach.
    He needed a place to practice and since he had partnered with now President Donald Trump at a pro-am in Pebble Beach, he asked if something might be arranged. The deal was cut: In exchange for practice time at Trump International, he wears Trump’s logo on his shirt, and as he joked in one interview, “I make sure I tell him how much people give me a hard time that I have his name on my chest.”
    Colene Frost, David’s wife, also is South African. Her father and the Frosts have been friends for more than half a century, but she didn’t meet David until the late ’90s. A budding romance cooled until they met again in South Africa in 2011. Three weeks later he proposed, but they didn’t marry until 2015. … Reception at Trump International, photos at Mar-a-Lago and the Rolls-Royce courtesy of Trump.

***
                                 
    Morgan Pressel is only 28, but it seems like she’s been making headlines on the women’s golf tour forever. As a 12-year-old the Boca resident became the youngest qualifier ever for the U.S. Women’s Open. She tied for second as a 17-year-old amateur.  She’s won five tournaments as a pro, but it’s her work off the course that merits special attention.
    In 2003, Morgan’s mother died of breast cancer, and in 2008 she launched the first Morgan and Friends tournament to raise money to fight the disease. For the second consecutive year, the 2017 edition at St. Andrews Country Club topped the $1 million mark, bringing the total raised beyond $6.5 million.
    It’s a loyal group. At least half of this year’s attendees played in the inaugural. “I’ll keep fighting as long as I can,” Pressel said.
                                 ***
    Response from potential customers and the curious was so great that Frank McKinney delayed and expanded the “Grand Unveiling” of his first micro-mansion, a lavishly appointed but almost miniature $3.9 million estate in Ocean Ridge.
    The Delray developer had planned to host 113 invitees on Jan. 13, but when the guest list filled in 88 minutes, he added a second showing. It overfilled in two hours, so McKinney moved the party to Feb. 4 and added an earlier third showing complete with martinis and mermaids in the two pools.
    The additional showings should provide a bigger boost for McKinney’s Caring House Project Foundation as donations are encouraged. Launched in 2003, the program is building its 24th self-sufficient village in Haiti, each housing more than 200 children and their families. Call 655-8178.
                                ***
    Fred Conrad has seen it all … and shot it all. Before landing permanently with The New York Times, he freelanced for Time, Newsweek, New York magazine, Rolling Stone, Ms. and the Times. He’s covered the violence of earthquakes in Haiti and wars around the globe, but he is also celebrated for his elegant portraits and architectural studies.
    Conrad’s master photography class and seminar on interactive lighting will headline the High School Pilot Project Photography Exhibition sponsored by the Florida East Coast Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters. The Feb. 25-26 exhibition at FAU’s University Theatre Lab will highlight the work of more than 60 student photographers from Boca Raton High, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, American Heritage and Pembroke Pines Charter. The program runs daily, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and the public is invited. (Info at www.nsalfloridaeast.org)
                                ***
    The Chinese New Year — the “rooster” — arrived Jan. 28, but no one complained two days before at Delray Beach’s Crest Theatre when Al Stewart performed Year of the Cat.  Stewart, 71, who still tours regularly, actually penned the melody half a century ago.
    Thank MusicWorks, which is bringing to South Florida an assortment of veteran performers and tribute bands: Judy Collins and Livingston Taylor played earlier;  Rus Anderson’s “Rocket Man” tribute to Elton John (Feb. 15);  The Weight (March 1), featuring players from The Band or deeply connected to its legacy, including Band guitarist Jim Weider and Brian Mitchell from Levon Helm’s band.
    Singer-songwriters John Sebastian (March 8) and Karla Bonoff (March 15) close it out. (www.musicworksconcerts.com)
                                ***

Xanadu will be presented Feb. 17-19 at Old School Square in Delray Beach. Photo Provided

    The lights at Old School Square may never go out this month. By month’s end nine shows will have played. They range from Pump Boys and Dinettes (Feb. 3-5) to Philip Fortenberry: The Hands of Liberace (Feb. 24) and Catch a Rising Star Comedy: Julia Scotti (Feb. 25).
    Tickets range from $22 for the cheap seats at Xanadu (Feb. 17-19) to $67 for Scotti, the transgender America’s Got Talent finalist, and for Defying Gravity (Feb. 13-14), a revue of the Steven Schwartz songbook by an ensemble that includes Jason Graae and Tony winner Debbie Gravitte. (Tickets: www.OldSchoolSquare.org or 243-7922).
                                ***
    For music of a more symphonic nature, Symphonia|Boca Raton has three Connoisseur Concerts on tap in the next three months at Saint Andrew’s School’s Roberts Theater. Plus, supporters will have a chance to mix and mingle with Symphonia members at a rehearsal, luncheon, auction and performance of Paris Impressions at Via Mizner Country Club in Boca del Mar on Feb. 17. For tickets, $75, or $90 for VIP, visit www.thesymphonia.org or call 376-3848.
    Kids can shed their headphones and “Meet the Orchestra” at dress rehearsals prior to each concert at Saint Andrews for free. Adults pay $5.
    On March 24 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on St. Andrews Boulevard, grown-ups can go behind the scenes for a rehearsal and box lunch ($35). Reservations a must.
    Formal concerts are set for Feb. 19 with Alastair Willis conducting Paris Impressions, March 26 with Gerard Schwarz conducting Vienna to Appalachia, and April 23 (Holocaust Remembrance Day) with Michael Stern conducting the Florida premiere of I Will Not Remain Silent as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica.
                                ***
    It’s time for Garlic Fest, but not in Delray Beach. The “Best Stinkin’ Party in South Florida,” now known as the South Florida Garlic Fest, is moving to John Prince Park in Lake Worth Feb. 10-12.
    It’s a casualty of a new Delray city policy that limits major events to one a month. The three-day event had been around for 17 years, but the Delray Beach Open tennis tournament later in the month is a year older and lasts 10 days. Lamentable loss for Delray Beach, but suburban Lake Worth hopes to make the best of it, and use the garlic to attract festivalgoers downtown.

    Thom Smith is a freelance writer who can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com.

The plate: Chicken and rib combo
The place: Smoke, 8 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; 330-4236 or www.eatbbqnow.com.
The price: $22.99
The skinny: The chicken on this combo platter was among the best I’ve tasted anywhere. Tender, juicy barbecued chicken that was infused with the essence of hardwood smoke and that boasted skin the color of mahogany.
The ribs? Well, they were wonderfully crusted, courtesy of chef Bryan Tyrell’s spice rub, but were rather dry, not falling-off-the-bone tender as one might expect. Granted, I stopped in for lunch after the rush, but I had higher expectations than this.
And while the slightly sweet slaw was fresh, it was off-putting to see it served in Styrofoam, especially at this price point.
Still, I would come back for that chicken alone. Outstanding.
— Scott Simmons

Wohlfiel was put on administrative duty after the incident and fired Jan. 4 after an internal affairs report concluded the Glock was his personal weapon, not Lucibella's, and he was the one who shot it. He is appealing his dismissal to the Town Commission.

Attorney Marc Shiner walks with former Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella outside the courtroom Jan. 10.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Dan Moffett

 Accepting the recommendation of the police chief and the conclusions of an internal investigation, Ocean Ridge Town Manager Jamie Titcomb fired Lt. Steven Wohlfiel Jan. 4 over his involvement in an alleged shooting incident at the home of former Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella in October.

 Police Chief Hal Hutchins, who oversaw the two-month probe, wrote a letter recommending Wohlfiel’s firing in releasing a 200-page report Tuesday. Titcomb agreed.

  “As you know, Police Officers are charged with upholding the law and need to exhibit conduct above reproach, they are held to a higher standard,” Titcomb said in a letter  informing Wohlfiel of his firing. “I don’t feel the standard we expect for our Police Officers has been met by you in this case.”

Among the key assertions in the report:
  * Grit Ritz, a business associate of Lucibella, and Barbara Ceuleers, a friend who was in the house during the incident, told investigators Wohlfiel admitted firing the shots with his personal handgun that touched off the disturbance. “Mr. Wohlfiel started saying that everything was his fault because he shot the pistol and the police officer on duty mishandled the situation,” Ritz said of a conversation with Wohlfiel later that night after Lucibella’s arrest.
  * While officers at the scene said Wohlfiel did not actively interfere with Lucibella’s arrest, he did argue against it and did little to calm him. Officer Plesnik told investigators that when she mentioned taking the vice mayor to jail, Wohlfiel said, “Nobody’s going to jail. There are no charges here.”
  * Wohlfiel has declined to give an interview to investigators, saying through his attorney that he is “exercising his constitutional right to remain silent.”

Hutchins said he found “numerous violations of agency policy” in investigating the incident. The chief said he called in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against Wohlfiel — who was not arrested and is not charged — for discharging a firearm in a residential area. But Hutchins said after consulting with the FDLE and county prosecutors, he won’t pursue charges.

 Wohlfiel’s attorney, Ralph King of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, has complained to the town that the lieutenant has not had a fair chance to tell his version of events. King has asked for a hearing to contest Wohlfiel’s dismissal during the regularly scheduled Feb. 6 Town Commission meeting.

 Wohlfiel, 48, rose through the ranks to supervising lieutenant during a decade of work in Ocean Ridge, serving for a time as the department’s union representative.  His firing takes effect Jan. 11, Titcomb said, and town commissioners have final authority to approve or reject the decision.

Commissioners are to consider replacing Lucibella at the town’s meeting on Jan. 9.

 Lucibella resigned Dec. 7 after the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s office charged him with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, both felonies, stemming from his arrest Oct. 22 at his oceanfront home.

 According to police reports, officers responding to neighbors’ complaints about gunfire that Saturday night say they found Lucibella and Wohlfiel, who was off-duty, “obviously intoxicated” on the patio. Officers say they took a .40-caliber Glock handgun from Lucibella and found five spent shell casings in the backyard. Police also confiscated a semiautomatic pistol they said Lucibella had in his back pocket.

 Both Lucibella and Wohlfiel insisted they knew nothing about gunshots. Neither man was tested for gunpowder residue or blood alcohol content, Hutchins said. Police say Lucibella “grew belligerent” and fought them as they tried to keep him from going inside his house. The officers said that when they entered Lucibella’s back yard, Wohlfiel used an expletive in telling them to leave.

  Lt. Richard Jones, the lead investigator in the internal review, said one of the arresting officers, Nubia Plesnik, told him that Lucibella “was so agitated and wanted to fight” police, but Wohlfiel did little to defuse the situation: “This whole incident took place in front of Wohlfiel and he never even got up or nothing.”

 Lucibella, and arresting Officers Richard Ermeri and Plesnik, all complained of injuries from a scuffle during the former vice mayor’s arrest. Lucibella, 63, has pleaded not guilty to all three charges, including a misdemeanor for firing a weapon while intoxicated. His attorney Marc Shiner accuses police of overreacting.

Mya Breman makes a point as she and Pat Saunders lead a tour of the kinetic art. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Three Ocean Ridge women volunteer as docents for International Kinetic Art Exhibit in Boynton

By Lucy Lazarony  

    Ann Alexander and Pat Saunders met fellow Ocean Ridge resident Mya Breman at an adult coloring club just a few months ago. While sipping wine and coloring, they met Debby Coles-Dobay, who as public arts manager in Boynton Beach runs the city’s Art in Public Places program.
Now the three Ocean Ridge residents and friends have taken up Coles-Dobay’s offer to be volunteer docents at the city’s International Kinetic Art Exhibit in February.
Once they learned about Coles-Dobay’s work, they wanted to help.  
“I am so impressed with all she does with Art in Public Places,” Alexander says.  “When we asked, ‘Is there anything we can do to help you?’ she jumped on it.”  
The third biennial International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium will be Feb. 3-5 in downtown Boynton Beach. It will showcase outdoor and indoor kinetic art exhibits and include symposium presentations and opportunities to meet the artists.    
“Art that moves, that’s kinetic art,” Coles-Dobay explains. “It can also be art that lights up.”  
As volunteer docents, the trio will be near the 12 outdoor exhibits, offering information on the artwork and the artists who created them.   
“It’s quite an endeavor,” Saunders says. “They started installing about three months ago.”
Seven of the outdoor exhibits are on East Ocean Avenue between Federal Highway and Seacrest Boulevard. The rest aren’t far away, near Boynton’s City Hall, and in Dewey Park, which is just north of Ocean Avenue.   
Come February when the International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium kicks off, Alexander, Saunders and Breman will be nearby wearing volunteer T-shirts.            

Ocean Ridge residents Mya Breman (foreground left) and Pat Saunders review details about the kinetic art they were explaining during docent training for the International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

The trio has had five training sessions as docents (with two more to come), and Saunders and Breman helped lead a tour of the kinetic art on Ocean Avenue to a ladies group in November.
“It’s just impressive. Every time we come, there’s another sculpture,” Breman says.  “Every one is different. Some make you happy. It’s just mesmerizing.”
Saunders says she is most looking forward to “getting to talk to the artists and younger people interested in art.”          

Breman likes that kinetic art is so hands-on.
“Letting people touch and move and really interact, hands-on, that’s what I’m really looking forward to,” Breman says. “That’s what I like about it. You can touch it.”
Alexander agrees.  In a museum, “you can’t even cross over the line.” 

If You Go
Boynton Beach’s International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium kicks off with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 3 and then runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 4 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 5.      

This free celebration will have more than 60 indoor kinetic artworks and 12 outdoor works, presentations and a kinetic art project by South Tech Academy students.     

For more information, including a map of the outdoor exhibits, visit www.intlkineticartevent.org.

Amos Robinson’s Revelation.

Feb. 20-23: Shop at a signature fundraising event for Wayside House, a nonprofit that provides alcohol and drug-addition recovery services to women, that will feature vendors from throughout the country. Time is 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 20 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 21-23. Cost is $100 Feb. 20 and $5 Feb. 21-23. Call 666-9162 or visit waysidehouse.net. ABOVE: (l-r, front) Committee members Barbara Backer, Lisa Jankowski, Pat McElroy, (back) Sue Ambrecht, Martha Grimm, Ellen Rubel, Barbara Whittaker and Joan Burns. Photo provided

The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County has a lot to be proud of, most recently the distinction as a 4-star nonprofit from Charity Navigator.
The high rating is the eighth the Boynton Beach-based organization has received — all consecutively.
“Charity Navigator is the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities,” said Kelly Layne Starling, a coalition volunteer. “Its ratings are equal to an Oscar in the nonprofit sector.”
Coalition CEO Kristin Calder added: “The literacy coalition is proud to again receive this high honor … in recognition of our steadfast effort, our efficient management and our profound commitment to our mission and the community.”

Quantum Foundation approves new grants
The board of trustees of the Quantum Foundation recently approved 10 new grants totaling over $450,000. A first-time recipient was the George Snow Scholarship Fund: Health Professions Scholarship Initiative, which received $200,000. Other recipients were Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County, Meals on Wheels, The Arc of Palm Beach County, The Children’s Healing Institute, West Palm Beach Library Foundation’s Healthy You Program, American Cancer Society, Delray Community Wellness, Easter Seals, and National Autism Registry.

Event raises $1M for South County nonprofits
The Havana Nights Charity Poker Tournament featured a cocktail reception, sit-down dinner, live music and a high-stakes tournament that, in the process, generated $1 million for the Achievement Centers for Children & Families in Delray Beach and one dozen other organizations.
Sponsored by KAST Construction and The Kolter Group, the event took place at the Boca Raton Resort & Club and brought together more than 130 businesses in support of the cause.
“It is rare to find a company that so heavily invests their leadership’s time, talent and skill to promote something like Havana Nights Charity Poker Tournament … supporting not only our agency’s programs and services and what we do, but what so many others are doing as well,” said Stephanie Seibel, CEO of the Achievement Centers.
Step by step, local charity makes a difference
Shuzz (pronounced shoes) has reached a major milestone of 100,000 pairs of shoes donated since the nonprofit’s inception.
“This achievement is incredible and even more impressive when you consider the charity has only been in operation for seven years and, until two years ago, didn’t have a single employee,” board member and public-relations director Casey Antonelli said.
The organization most recently shipped 500 pairs of shoes to children in the Bahamas affected by Hurricane Matthew.
“These children needed new shoes before the hurricane, and now they need them even more,” Antonelli said.
The mission of Shuzz is to provide proper footwear to children, as well as to conduct lower-extremity surgery for those who need it via medical missions, in poverty-stricken areas around the world.

Delray summer literacy gets $25,000 donation
Jarden Consumer Solutions’ employee-funded charitable entity has presented the Delray Beach Public Library with a record $25,000 grant in support of summer literacy.
The library will use the funds for programming and to purchase books, prizes and snacks for the at-risk students participating, helping prevent the “summer slide.”
 The term refers to a tendency for students — especially those from low-income families — to lose some of their achievement gains made during the school year.
“It is the goal of the JCS …to direct funding to areas that best address the needs in the community, and the summer-literacy program in Delray Beach exemplifies that goal,” said Rocki Rockingham, JCS vice president of community relations and communications.
Library Director Alan Kornblau added: “It is inspiring to see that individuals like the employees of JCS are willing to donate their time and money to give children a greater chance to succeed in their educational endeavors.”
The annual program has distributed more than 26,000 books to local children.

Submit your event or listing to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.

The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County is celebrating another successful annual campaign, as the nonprofit coordinated the participation of more than 16,000 adults and children at nearly 450 child-care centers and schools throughout the region. Read for the Record focuses on getting thousands of adults to read a selected book on a single day to children. This year’s book was The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Boynton Beach was the winner in the large city category; Lantana took the prize for smaller towns.
ABOVE: Boynton Beach Mayor Steven Grant (right) and John Durgan, the city’s special-projects coordinator, display the prizes. They are joined by Connie Hoke (left) and Kristin Calder, CEO of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. Photo provided

Members from Boca Woods Country Club teamed up with athletes from Lynn University’s women’s golf team to hit the fairways in support of Hospice by the Sea Foundation and Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation. More than 100 players competed in an 18-hole challenge for a good cause. The event raised more than $4,000. ABOVE: (l-r) Co-Chairwomen Linda Fontana, Linda Jaspan, Eileen Roman, Dawn Strenk and Elizabeth Bell. Photo provided

The crowd dressed up and turned out for Sacred Heart Parish’s formal affair recognizing the church’s 100 years of service in Lake Worth. Proceeds will ensure students at Sacred Heart School have the opportunity to flourish in STREAM (Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Art and Math). LEFT: Frankie and Gary Stevens.
Photo provided

Candles flickered throughout the home of Richard Day and Lisa Swift, who served as hosts of an event to honor ambassadors, donors and volunteers of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation for the Everglades. At poolside, a steel-drum player and an outdoor bar set the scene for guests to reconnect after the summer and talk about the accomplishments of the organization.
ABOVE: (l-r) Kim Goodyear, Sheila Schwartz and Barbara McDonald. Photo provided by Jacek Photo

The hunger-awareness event to benefit the Palm Beach County Food Bank was a success, with more than 1,100 attendees each purchasing a handmade ceramic bowl for $25 and selecting from among more than 30 soups available to sample. The more than $140,000 in funds raised will help the nonprofit provide meals and nonperishables to 100-plus local agencies. ABOVE: (l-r) Honorary Chairs George Elmore and Marti LaTour, Chairs Shelly and Billy Himmelrich, Palm Beach County Food Bank Executive Director Perry Borman and board member Gary Woodfield. BELOW: Carolyn and John Kelly, Florida Atlantic University president, serve soup to Clarita Zeppie. Photos provided by Wordsmith Communications

The first conversation of the series focused on the 25th anniversary of the Kravis Center and featured a fascinating, funny and anecdote-filled dialogue among Chairman Michael Bracci, CEO Judy Mitchell and Senior Director of Programming Lee Bell. The moderator was Lee Wolf, chairwoman of the Lunch & Learn Series. ABOVE: Virginia Mossburg and Dina Baker.
Photo provided by Michiko Kurisu

    Nancy Dockerty and Caron Dockerty are the event’s new chairwomen. Photo provided

By Amy Woods

Laugh With the Library turns 11 this year. The signature showcase of comedy that sells out every season has raised more than $1 million to promote reading among children and increase programming at the Delray Beach Public Library.
    On Feb. 3, a night of food, frivolity and fun will take place, featuring the sarcastic stylings of Kevin Flynn.
“He is so funny and so wonderful,” Co-Chairwoman Caron Dockerty said of the standup artist who has appeared in films and television shows, hosts a weekly radio broadcast and serves as executive director of the Nantucket Comedy Festival.
    Dockerty and her family spend their summers on the island, and it has become a tradition to attend the big gig.
    “I knew he was philanthropic, and I knew he would appreciate helping out the library,” she said. “I knew it was a really nice fit.”
    Not only did Flynn agree to headline Laugh With the Library for half his regular talent fee, he also booked the warm-up act, Richie Minervini, of New York’s East Side Comedy Club fame. The evening will kick off at 7:30 with an open bar and dinner-by-the-bite.
    “It is the most fun charitable event we attend every year, and we go to several,” Dockerty said. “Everyone looks forward to this night.”
    She is organizing the fundraiser with her sister-in-law, Nancy Dockerty.
    “Co-chairing with Caron is really fun and a great experience, and she’s the first person I thought of when I said, ‘Oh, I’ll do this,’ ” Nancy Dockerty said.
    The two have taken the reins from the dynamic duo of Heidi Sargeant and Becky Walsh, the original co-chairwomen.
    “We are hoping to follow in their footsteps,” Nancy Dockerty said. “We want to maintain the level of fun at  the event. We want to maintain the level of comedians they’ve gotten over the past 10 years.”

If You Go
What: Laugh With the Library
When: 7:30-11 p.m. Feb. 3
Where: Delray Beach Marriott, 10 N. Ocean Blvd.
Cost: $200
Information: Call 266-0798 or visit delraylibrary.org/laugh

The Florida East Coast Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters kicked off the 2017 season in style when Barry and Joyce Levin opened their Boca Raton home and welcomed more than 40 members – and prospective members. They enjoyed libations and hors d’oeuvres, as well as a performance by students from Lynn University’s Conservatory of Music. ABOVE: (l-r) NSAL President Emeritus Alyce Erickson, with the university’s Mendelssohn Octet members Yvonne Lee Sooi Cheen, Andrew Baloff, Yue Yang, Shanshan Wei, Yordan Tenev, Akmal Irmatov, Khosiyatkhon Khusanova and Kayla Williams. Photo provided

Guests came out to participate in the theme ‘Sip, Shop & Celebrate,’ raising money for the Spirit of Giving Network’s holiday gift drive that aimed to fulfill 4,000 wishes from underprivileged children in the community. There were special promotions throughout the day at participating stores, including discounts, raffles and sweet treats.
RIGHT: Alexa Cruz and Ann Rutherford. Photo provided

Daniel ‘Rusty’ Staub received an impressive round of applause when the legendary baseball player participated in a lively question-and-answer session at the first breakfast of the series, with more than 110 in attendance. Staub gave an anecdotal look into one of America’s most accomplished professional baseball careers, followed by his tenure in broadcasting and current role as a philanthropist.
ABOVE: Debra Elmore, with Bradley Hurston.
Photo provided by CAPEHART

The plate: Barbecue ribs
The place: Houston’s, 1900 NW Executive Center Circle, Boca Raton; 998-0550 or www.hillstone.com.
The price: $29
The skinny: Houston’s has been a go-to place for special occasions and for comfort fare for more than 20 years. Yes, it’s a chain restaurant, part of the Hillstone group, but each of the company’s restaurants is individual and takes into account its market.
The house-made veggie burger is among the best anywhere, and the service generally is never less than outstanding.
A friend and I visited after an evening of theater at Florida Atlantic University.
Our barbecue pork ribs were falling-off-the-bone tender and were served in a tangy sauce that enhanced the grilled meat’s flavor.
The cole slaw was well dressed, and not too sweet; and, as always, the fries were crisp and hot.
— Scott Simmons