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Amy Scherzer's Diary: WeeklyWrap-Up of the Tampa Social Scene

 
Mylinda Steiner, left, Heather DuBois and Katie Trott check out the scene at Martinis for Moffitt.
Mylinda Steiner, left, Heather DuBois and Katie Trott check out the scene at Martinis for Moffitt.
Published Aug. 18, 2016

11th Martinis for Moffitt

Vacations get scheduled around it, probably weddings and a few bar mitzvahs, too, as Martinis for Moffitt goes on the summer calendar first.

"We sold out three weeks in advance, over 1,000 tickets," said Kostas Stoilas, speaking for the Bay Area Advisors, the charity-minded, young men's professional network that has grown its annual benefit into one of Tampa's most anticipated events.

Martinis, champagne and cocktails never stopped at 15 bars rimming the Straz Center on Aug. 6. Craft beer tapped in an adjacent tent felt like a fancy frat party. VIPs and sponsors staked out the mezzanine and first-floor nooks while the Mighty Mongo band and Deejay Fresh rocked the Morsani lobby. Straz executive chef Edward Steinhoff pleased the roving partiers with shrimp Newburg on truffled risotto served in martini glasses, chilled seafood raw bars, lamb chops, carved steamship of beef and a sweet array of desserts.

The "got it, flaunt it" crowd dressed to mingle, later "morphing into more of a singles party," said Stoilas. "It's a great networking opportunity, for a date or a business client." He expects to clear at least $150,000 to donate to Moffitt Cancer Center's advanced prostate cancer collaborative as well as adolescent/young adult cancer programming. That will make BAA a $1 million donor over 11 years.

The Beach Tampa VIP party

The grownups plunged, leaped and scrambled into an "ocean" of 1.2 million white plastic balls at the VIP opening of The Beach Tampa, the three-week immersive exhibit sponsored by the Vinik Family Foundation at Amalie Arena. Celia and Jim Ferman, USF Health dean Donna Petersen and Tampa Bay Partnership chief Rick Homans jumped right in. Insurance guru Guy King, City Council member Harry Cohen and restaurateurs Michael and Lindsay Stewart waded in the plastic sea.

"No sunburn, no sand," joked Penny Vinik, hostess for the colorful boardwalk party beneath a swath of striped beach balls, plastic sand buckets and paper lanterns Aug. 4. Delaware North catered lobster roll, crab BLT sliders, hangar steak, apple pie a la mode and summer cocktails in tiki huts. Beach Boys surfing tunes, Gidget movies and toy Viewfinders to take home put a vintage spin on the beach bash.

Just fun, no agenda, Jeff Vinik told the 400 guests. "We'll get our return on investment in smiles." The million-dollar exhibition, completely free to the public, will draw 100,000 visitors before it closes Aug. 25.

19th annual Celebrate Sinatra

Everyone looks suave and glamorous when they're dancing to the timeless Frank Sinatra songbook. That's why Ken Walters keeps hosting his annual Celebrate Sinatra, this year, No. 19, featured Andy Stefano's Big Band Orchestra, joined by singers Natalie Nelson and Amy Morgan. The swanky party returned to its south Tampa roots Saturday, to the Tampa Yacht & Country Club, after a couple of runs in Ybor City. Walters earmarked $2,000 from event proceeds for Goodwill Industries-Suncoast.

Ol' Blue Eyes would be 100 years old and still thrilling fans like Oleg Koltunov, Nilda Vale and Mandi Hale who met over drinks in the bar where guitarist Tony Shannon was playing. "The music makes it so easy to connect," Koltunov said. "I love that era," Hale agreed. "I wish I was born in the Greatest Generation."