Jay Whelchel and Mariya-Khristina Shurupova practice for last year’s
Boca’s Ballroom Battle at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Photo by Jerry Lower
By Thom Smith
“I’ve got a book deal in the works. We’re talking about a made-for-TV movie,” Jay Whelchel says.
This time last year, the Boca Raton commercial real estate specialist was the toe-tapping, fast-moving, high-kicking king of the dance floor at the Third Annual Boca’s Ballroom Battle and he has the disco ball trophy to prove it.
Volunteer and philanthropist Laura Stoltz took the women’s title.
The year has passed so quickly: The fourth annual dance-off, which raises money for the George Snow Scholarship Fund, is set for Aug. 19 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club; Whelchel admits his attention has not been on the dance floor:
“Actually, dancing the baby to sleep is about it,” he said, confirming that 6-month-old daughter Vivian has replaced professional partner Mariya-Khristina Shurupova. She and brother Jack, 2½, couldn’t care less how nimble the old man is.
“Children just don’t respect the accomplishment at all,” Jay Whelchel lamented. “They don’t understand the significance of it.”
Kidding aside, Whelchel took last year’s event quite seriously, practicing for several months before the competition. Plus, he felt added pressure: His mother, Boca Mayor Susan Whelchel, had won the inaugural. So Jay prepared for his hustle routine as he had approached game days as a high school and college athlete.
“The week before I was about 50 percent ready, but it got closer, I started to visualize the routine, got my game face on,” he said. “You start to focus and it all comes together. I got up for it at the right time.”
This year’s contestants include businesswoman and philanthropist Yvonne Boice, plastic surgeon Dr. Rafael Cabrera, Boca West Country Club General Manager Jay DiPietro, Coldwell Banker Executive Vice President Ingrid Fulmer, Mercedes Benz of Delray Executive Manager Ralph Mesa, Bell Rock Capital Managing Director Jacqueline Reeves, philanthropist and volunteer extraordinaire Pat Thomas and Waste Management’s South Florida Director of Disposal Operations Bryan Tindell.
Welchel has some tips. “I wasn’t nervous,” he said, “No, I was excited. You’re up for it. Don’t know what’s gonna happen, so it all comes down to preparation.
“It seems so abstract when you’re practicing, but it will click. For some it’ll click in a month or maybe a week. When I first heard the song, it seemed so fast that I couldn’t even feel the beat, but eventually you learn your routine so well that the speed slows down. That’s what happened to me.”
The Ballroom Battle is a highlight of Boca Festival Days, a monthlong celebration of the city, its institutions and its people. Sponsored by the Boca Chamber of Commerce, Boca Festival Days gives the city’s for-profit Chamber members an opportunity to raise support and money for its nonprofit members.
Following a July 27 kickoff party at Carrabba’s on Southwest 18 Street, the first fundraiser was the inaugural White Coats 4 Care reception, sponsored by Kaye Communications Aug. 1 at Carmen’s Restaurant at the Top of the Bridge Hotel. Donations of $100 or more will buy lab coats and other important equipment for students at FAU’s brand-new Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, which opens for class the same day.
With its Blue Hawaii theme, the Festival Days’ “Summer in the City” bash at Mizner Park Amphitheater should be heaven for Elvis lovers with a Vegas-style stage tribute to the king of rock ’n’ roll. Show begins at 7 and doesn’t cost a cent to get in. For details about all the events, which continue through Aug. 29, go to bocachamber.com.
Speaking of tribute shows, Neil Zirconia, who bills himself as “the ultimate faux Diamond,” brings his version of Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show to Boca’s Pavilion Grille Aug. 13. Despite its location in the ultramodern glass-enclosed atrium of Boca’s Stonegate Bank Building, the Pavilion is a throwback to a time when people went dancing.
It features a 2,000-square-foot dance floor. Dance lessons are offered Tuesday and Wednesday nights and live music puts transforms that training into action just about every other night, usually for a $10 cover charge that includes one drink. Those who prefer dinner with their dancing can opt for hors d’oeuvres, soups and salads ($3-$17), sandwiches or burgers ($10-$16) or entrees ($17-$32). Occasionally, the dining room is taken over by private parties, so reservations (912-0000) are a must, unless you’re prepared to dance in the parking lot.
Since 2004, the Boca Raton Singers have staged modest concerts and performed in local nursing and retirement homes, often for no charge. But then the economy played a sour note, as various public agencies, including city governments and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, cut funding to several small cultural organizations. To many, $10,000 is a paltry sum; to the singers, it meant everything.
Enter Henrietta de Hoernle, better known as the countess. She likes their music. More important, she admires the fact that every member is a volunteer, even Music Director Gerald Luongo. So when board president Connie Paladino called to plead her case, the countess agreed to help out.
The chorus will still have to raise money on its own, but with the countess’ help, it plans to expand in size and stage larger, more ambitious shows. And it’s changed its name … to the de Hoernle Singers.
Open auditions will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 and Sept. 12 at the group’s rehearsal site, Grace Community Church, 600 W. Camino Real. Notify Paladino in advance by email at cmpaladino@aol.com.
Now that the women’s World Cup is over, soccer fans are turning their attention to Boca Raton for a few games, at least. magicJack, Boca’s surprise, last-minute franchise in Women’s Professional Soccer, features seven members of the women’s national team play including player and newly named head coach Abby Wambach and goalkeeper Hope Solo (no relation to Han Solo).
magicJack’s new owner is as controversial as his players are talented. Palm Beacher Dan Borislow bought the Washington Freedom, moved to Boca and renamed it magicJack for the internet telephone device that made him millions. He’s often seen tooling around Palm Beach on his $30,000 Can-Am Spyder RT, a three-wheeled motorcycle. He’s also a fan, and even played the game.
Only three regular season home games remain, all of which will be played at FAU’s soccer stadium.
New Jersey’s Sky Blue Soccer comes to town Aug. 6, led by U.S. National Team player Heather O’Reilly and Swedish player of the year Therese Sjögran. Four days later, it’s the Western New York Flash with four-time world player of the year Marta and Satellite Beach’s own Ashlyn Harris. Expect the largest crowd ever to watch a soccer game in Palm Beach County.
magicJack will close out the regular season Aug. 14 against league-leading Philadelphia Independence. For ticket info, go www.ticketmaster.com.
While the opening of a medical school is a big story, the big questions around FAU concern football.
No. 1: How will the Owls do this year? A: Could be dicey. Head coach and Ocean Ridge resident Howard Schnellenberger says the quarterback is key and hopes to pick one no later than 10 days before the opener at University of Florida. If he survives the Swamp, he gets Michigan State a week later and Auburn two weeks after that.
No. 1: Asked if he had the energy for his 11th season at age 77, Schnellenberger, FAU’s first and only head coach, said, “If I didn’t, I’d already be gone.” Athletic Director Craig Angelos says he won’t make a decision until the season is over.
No. 1: How’s the stadium doing? Still ahead of schedule and under budget, school officials boast.
As for specs, it seats 30,000 in the grandstand, 24 suites, 26 loge boxes, more than 1,000 open-air premier club seats and more than 4,000 priority club seats. Suite, loge and premier club seat holders can relax in an air-conditioned, 8,000-square-foot premier club or a covered, 16,000-square-foot outdoor priority club. By the way, premium seats (not just for fat-cat boosters) are wider.
The student-and-band-only section is in the south end zone. Student tickets are free.
Elsewhere, most season tickets are $135 and $150. That covers the entire east stands, north end zone and the west stands to the 5-yard-line at the north end. A seat on the 50 can be had for $385.A seat in Section 205 Row Z will set a die-hard Owl fan back $1,480 while one in Loge 306 C will go for $9,560.
But then, this is Boca.
First home game is Oct. 15 against Western Kentucky. The stadium also will play a big role in FAU’s 50th anniversary celebration Oct. 29. Meanwhile, Fanfest on Aug. 20 should offer more answers.
Here and there: It’s called the English Tap & Beer Garden Restaurant, but the new spot in Boca Center is German-inspired — a Biergärten concept with open-air dining and lots of international beers and other libations and live entertainment. It’s actually the offspring of Wild Olives, which was moved into the old Cucina D’Angelo space next door by owner John Watson. Wild Olives Exec Chef Ken Stevens stays on, so look for an eclectic pub menu with emphasis on locally grown and fresh.
The Morfogen the merrier. Since Nick Morfogen arrived 15 years ago, 32 East has ranked as one of the best restaurants in the Southeast. This month brother Stratis, a veteran of the New York and more recently Miami restaurant scene with partner Philippe Chow, will open Philippe in Boca Raton. The casual version of Chow’s Manhattan showcase will take over the former III Forks site on East Palmetto Park Road.
The opening, planned for mid-August, should be star-studded, as Morfogen has some big investors — literally: Alonzo Mourning, ex-Miami Heat, Jerome Bettis, ex-Pittsburgh Steelers and still-active hoop stars Chauncey Billups, New York Knicks, and Al Harrington, Denver Nuggets.
Chow is one of two dozen chefs from Boca to Palm Beach participating in the March of Dimes’ Sixth Annual Signature Chefs Auction, Sept. 9 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Exquisite wines and spirits, sumptuous samplings from the chefs and an auction of dining packages. Call (561) 684-0102.
Heading north. As we reported earlier, Angelo Elia, owner of Casas d’Angelo in Fort Lauderdale, Nassau and Boca, (but no link to Cucina d’Angelo) had been looking for months for the right spot to bring the Angelo name to Delray. He finally found it just south of Atlantic on Seventh Avenue — the old Carolina’s Coal Fired Pizza space. He hopes to have D’Angelo Trattoria open by summer’s end, with a gelato shop to follow soon after. Thom Smith is a freelance writer. Contact him at ThomSmith@ymail.com.
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