Amy Scherzer's Diary

WEDU's Sojourn — La Dolce Vita

Bella, bella, raved guests arriving to Andrea Bocelli's soaring tenor, promising Italian pleasures to come at Sojourn — La Dolce Vita, the fifth black-tie international tribute benefit for WEDU. Co-chairs Cathy Unruh and Tom Sansone showcased Italy for the public broadcasting station Saturday, netting $100,000 without even mailing invitations. No wonder WEDU copyrighted the Sojourn gala concept.

ConceptBAIT designed a chic bacchanalia, with hunky Roman gladiators, masked Venetian revelers and Renaissance artists. Saks Fifth Avenue models twirled in Italian fashions, to the delight of the tuxedoed half of the 500 guests, including former U.S. Ambassador to Italy Mel Sembler. Paparazzi flashed along a white vinyl runway/dance floor at A La Carte Pavilion.

An Opera Tampa duo sang tableside arias as dinner began with almond and pesto pasta. Sea bass and sirloin followed, paired with Italian wines donated by Premier Beverage Co.

Auctions flaunted Italian connections, such as dinner by chef Giuliano Hazan at Dick and Caren Lobo's home ($4,000); dining at Donatello with Rays manager Joe Maddon ($3,000); and a pasta feast at publishers Margaret Wood Burnside and Aaron Fodiman's Dunedin home ($6,500).

Other offers guests couldn't refuse: Use of the Italian Club for a private party; VIP tour of MOSI's Leonardo DaVinci exhibit and tickets to Ken Walters' Frank Sinatra celebration on July 31.







Love of a Garden

How sweet it was to celebrate Valentine's Day at "Club Chocolat" a.k.a. the Tampa Garden Club. The annual Love of a Garden benefit honored Margo and Gary Harrod for their vibrant Bayshore landscaping.

Co-chairs Kathy Lewis and Julie Lux hooked up with ConceptBAIT to offer everything chocolate — martinis to table linens — accented with romantic red florals and lighting.

Chefs on the Loose Laura Schmalhorst cooked up Thai shrimp chowder and Caribbean chicken to go with mounds of freshly shucked oysters. Tiramisu, chocolate truffle cake and other treats waited beneath silvery-white branches hung with chandeliers.

Romantic silent auction items included a pique assiette rabbit made by Carole Guyton, bought by Joann and Crowell Dawkins, and paintings by Rosemary Henderson and the late Frannie Reynolds. Proceeds will be used to improve the Bayshore Boulevard clubhouse.

Florida Holocaust Museum's To Life

The Florida Holocaust Museum relaxed its annual formal dinner format, switching to business casual, nosh and nibbles, in the Mahaffey Theater lobby on Feb. 11. The new view and venue pleased the 600-plus supporters of To Life, Shining Light on a Better World. Other crowd-pleasers were the mostly vegetarian "bites'' — eggplant caviar, cheese soup, sushi, gelato — from Lynn's Catering.

Violinist Oleg Geyer opened for journalist/activist Lisa Ling. But first museum chairman Marty Borrell welcomed 200 college students, noting the "H-word" stands equally for holocaust and human rights. He expects the $150-ticket event will net more than $100,000 to further education and exhibitions.

Ling shared her passion for current events, beginning as a kid watching Connie Chung on CBS news programs. She lightly touched on hardball topics she reported for the Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC's The View and the National Geographic Channel. No comment on sister Laura's detainment in North Korea. (Have to wait for the book.)

Tracey Locke of St. Petersburg received the Walter Loebenberg Humanitarian Award, named for the museum founder. Locke used lessons of the Holocaust when creating the Paris Gardens project in memory of murdered 8-year-old Paris Whitehead-Hamilton.