Happy anniversary for St. Petersburg

In a blur of berry-flavored vodka, caviar-topped canapes and faux snow, members of the Los Angeles-St. Petersburg Sister City Committee celebrated the 300th anniversary of the former Russian capital with a gala Winter Ball at the Jonathan Club. Bidding on silent auction items that ranged from tins of caviar to a Lakers jersey signed by Kobe Bryant, more than 300 guests mingled in a salon paneled with raw silk before dining in the club’s palatial ballroom, with its multicolored coffered ceilings and amber-laced crystal chandeliers.

The 12-year-old nonprofit committee, founded by former Mayor Tom Bradley and the late Russian dignitary Anatole Sobchak, seeks to foster a flow of culture, education and capital between the two cities, said volunteer Jeri Ferris, winner of a service award at the Feb. 1 gala. “I am passionately in love with St. Petersburg and have visited the city close to 20 times,” the retired teacher said. During her visits to the historic city with her husband, Tom, Ferris helped bring thousands of American books to its public libraries. “After the Soviet Union broke up, they had nothing by American authors. So, with the help of the committee, we were able to help fill their libraries with political, geographic and economic works,” she said.

Also recognized at the gala were musician and arts benefactor Richard D. Colburn, L.A. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Vladimir Zelman, chief of neuroanesthesia at the Keck School of Medicine at USC.

Many of the guests sported Romanov-inspired finery -- glittering tiaras, bustles, estate jewelry. Over fine wines and filet mignon, Stroganoff-style, they heard a performance by tenor Anatoly Berkovich and watched ballerina Erin Nicole Britt perform. “I’ve loved meeting members of this committee,” said a new member, Russian-born Tatiana Gore, a classical pianist who attended with her husband, Barry. “They are lovely people and I think they would enjoy the people of Russia. Russian people are not so concerned about business -- their real treasure is friendship.”