Dec 10, 2006

Filoli celebrates season in its 'Winter Garden'

By Janet Duca Norton / Society Columnist

"Gifts from the Winter Garden" was the theme of the 24th annual weeklong holiday fundraising event at Filoli in Woodside. Beginning with a first-time premier access shopping evening on Nov. 24, the week featured shopping days with entertainment by local student music groups, brunch buffets, a luncheon with Santa and Mrs. Claus and a gala dinner dance.

This year's theme showcased the famous Filoli greenhouse, which was designed and built in 1921 by premier greenhouse builders Bakewell and Brown. The traditional glass conservatory houses exotic plants, which were favorites of the Bourn family, who built the estate, and second owner Lurline Roth, who collected orchids and begonias.

A large replica of the greenhouse was featured center stage in the Visitor Center, and smaller iron terrariums filled with ferns, white cyclamen and chartreuse green moss were popular gift items.

The opening night shopping extravaganza was a sold-out success. Around 500 guests sampled hors d'oeuvres by award-winning chef Jesse Cool; viewed gorgeous, glittering trees and decorations throughout the house and Visitors Center; and filled shopping bags to the brim with ornaments, decorations, crafts, and estate-packaged culinary items such as spices, vinegars and olive oils.

A glimpse of the Roth family traditions was provided by daughter Lurline Roth Coonan, who used the family's china and designed the elegant centerpiece for the Christmas dining table. She and her twin sister Berenice Spalding grew up in the mansion.

About 135 guests attended a VIP preview reception honoring major donors and members of the Filoli boards: the Governing Board and Friends of Filoli.

Governing Board members included president Connie Ridder, Ron and Barb Peyton, Andrea and Bill Johnston, Barbara and Win Seipp with his parents Ed and Anne Seipp, Suzanne Loomis, and Bob French and his wife Connie, a Friends of Filoli member.

Friends of Filoli President Sue Givens greeted her successors Mary Lynn Carwardine (2000) and Irene Bluth (2001), board member Vanessa Roach and her sister Alexandra and mother Pam Brandin, and California State Senator Jackie Speier.

Everyone particularly liked the salute to Governing Board member Chuck Huggins, retired CEO of See's Candies, that featured a large display of See's Candies in Filoli's kitchen. It was a well-kept secret, and he was very surprised when he and his wife Donna arrived at the dinner dance the next evening.

Filoli is a property of the National Trust for Historical Preservation. The Filoli Center, Friends of Filoli and private donations are the source of funding for the preservation and conservation of the 43-room, modified Georgian mansion and its 16 acres of world-class English-renaissance gardens.



NOTRE DAME SALUTES THE HOLIDAYS

Invitations to a holiday cocktail reception invited guests to "Jazz Up Your Holidays" and celebrate the musical talent of Notre Dame de Namur University. Notre Dame Trustee Will Spencer and his wife Claire partnered with fellow longtime Trustee Sheila O'Connor Burns to host the Nov. 30 holiday event at their Hillsborough home.

"Notre Dame has always been a special place to us, especially to Claire. It is a great school and deserving of your support," Will said after welcoming about 100 trustees, donors, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the Belmont-based University.

Claire holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts in Piano Pedagogy from Notre Dame.

Students from the Notre Dame music program provided entertainment along with noted Bay Area jazz vocalist Weslia Whitfield, who is also an adjunct faculty member.

Leading the applause were University President John and Janiece Oblak, Rich and Susie Huetteman, and Anne and Eugene Bleck.

The school was founded in 1851 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, and is the fifth-oldest higher education institution in the state. Located in Belmont, the university became the first college in California to award baccalaureate degrees to women in 1868, and currently offers degrees in Arts and Humanities, Business and Management, Sciences, and Education and Leadership.