Column: The Crowd: Fall means a new social season on the Orange Coast

Here we are at Labor Day Weekend 2018, and September is upon us. Personally, I love September. I think it is my favorite month.

Better than Christmas and New Year’s Eve. For me, September has always been a month of new beginnings.

Back to school, back to work following summer vacation, time to put into action new plans and new dreams. As an aside, September is also a better month to start a diet. If you start a diet on Jan. 1, you probably will not make it until Feb. 1. But if you start your diet in September you will be skinny and healthy by the time the holidays come around and feel no guilt in indulging in candy canes and cookies. Well, only one or two that is.

September is also the start of the social season on the Orange Coast. Inasmuch as the community has long been a center of philanthropy assisting countless nonprofit organizations, civic foundations, educational and cultural outreach, medical support and research, and so much more, I thought this Labor Day Weekend column would be the perfect place to share some of the landmark events on the September/October calendar.

First up is the traditional opening gala launching the social season: the annual South Coast Repertory Gala slated for Sept. 15 at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel. Event chairs are Talya Nevo-Hacohen and Bill Schenker, who have labeled the gala “Places, Please.” Proceeds will fund arts education programs in Orange County. Dedicated repertory patrons include Maralou and Jerry Herrington, Elaine Weinberg, Betty and Wylie Aitken, and Julianne and George Argyros. Committee members producing one of the most glamorous balls on the coast include Olivia Johnson, Barbara Cline, Sally Anderson, Sophia Hall Cripe and Kathryn Cenci representing South Coast Plaza. For information on this black-tie gala, visit scr.org/gala.

The Fashion Island Hotel will welcome the Priceless Luncheon, which is produced by the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University. The doors to the grand ballroom will welcome hundreds of guests on Sept. 22 for the the fifth annual Diamond Awards honoring special advocates in the community fighting the scourge of human trafficking. M.C. Deborah Anderson will welcome keynote speakers Deidre Pujols, wife of Angel’s first baseman Albert Pujols, and Stacy Jewell, award winning artist, writer and producer. Chaired by Gwyn Hoyt and Helen Steinkamp, the luncheon will feature a report by Vanguard’s Sandra Morgan focusing on progress being made to stop human trafficking. To learn more, visit vanguard.edu/priceless.

One of the O.C.’s most romantic evenings will unfold Sept. 14 in San Juan Capistrano. The 2018 Romance of the Mission Gala, which is produced in partnership with the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, will once again raise funds for the preservation and restoration of California’s Mission San Juan Capistrano. Madeline and James Irvine Swinden are the honored guests. The distinguished couple will be joined by long-time mission preservation advocates George O’Connell, Wylie Aitken, EJ Tracy, Anthony Moiso and others. To learn more, go to missionsjc.com.

The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation will hold its annual Distinguished Donor Reception Sept. 12 at the Newport Beach Public Library. The foundation board of directors will honor and welcome special guests Keith Morrison of NBC television’s “Dateline” and Suzanne Perry, writer and political consultant. Both are active members of the Library Foundation.

On Sept. 13 the World Affairs Council plans to present the respected Michael Chertoff. Chertoff, who served as secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, will fly in from the East Coast to share his considerable perspective on both national and global politics. The venue has not yet been selected. To learn more, go to WorldAffairsCouncil.org.

Representatives from the Orange County School of the Arts will fill the ballroom of the Balboa Bay Resort on Sept. 8 for an event presented by executive producers and major donors Harriet and Sandy Sandhu, joining fellow honorary producer and significant donor Carole Pickup. Entertainment is always in the forefront at the OCSA gala, and this year will be no exception as organizers feature Broadway’s David Burnham (“Wicked” and “The Light in the Piazza”) joining talented student artists from the high school’s jazz and musical theater conservatories along with performance ambassadors from one of OCSA’s platforms, MONTAGE! For information and tickets go to ocsarts.net/SeasonPremiere.

Invitations went in the mail this week for Serving People In Need’s Oktoberfest event Oct. 5 at the Newport Beach Country Club. SPIN’s generous underwriting sponsors Keith and Florence Smith are presenting the evening featuring comedian Bobby Collins, a regular on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Also on the talent roster is Linda Herman’s Bavarian band, which plays traditional German Oktoberfest music. The Newport Beach Country Club has prepared a traditional Oktoberfest feast with plenty of modern accents, including all-you-can-eat German pretzels. For ticket and sponsorship information, please contact [email protected].

A major milestone will be celebrated Sept. 12 at the Balboa Bay Club. Founded in the fall of 1948 by veterans and their families returning from World War II, the BBC will mark its 70th anniversary as the “Host of the Coast.” The club’s general manager, Leticia Rice, and staff, including Aaron Trent and Melanie Hertrick, are producing an end-of-summer anniversary bash on the beach. BBC ownership is in the hands of the Pickup and Martin families, which will welcome the iconic club’s board of directors and chairman John Wortmann, who is expected to greet a crowd upward of 1,000 people.

B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.