Let’s see how much good stuff we can get into print today:
Hang 10! A surf’s up theme has been chosen for the 10th anniversary Celebrity Bash, Joe and Debbie Sakic’s annual fundraiser for Food Bank of the Rockies’ Children’s Nutrition Network. It begins at 7 p.m. Friday in the Inverness Hotel’s Summit Ballroom and will include appearances by some of Joe Sakic’s Colorado Avalanche. Tickets are $125 and can be purchased by calling the food bank, 303-371-1664.
“Absolute! Fabulous! Gorgeous!, the second annual Drag/Men’s Fashion Show benefiting the Boulder County AIDS Project, begins at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1 at Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Angel de Luna (Miguel Goldstein) is the headliner, and other local drag entertainers scheduled to perform include Princess Cheri and Anita Lota More. Fashions will be from Starr’s Clothing Co. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $20 for reserved seating. They can be purchased by calling 303-444-7328.
Hard work and a positive attitude helped mountain climber Eric Alexanders survive a nine-month battle with pneumonia that began after he fell 150 feet onto a 3-foot-wide ledge that saved him from another 500-foot drop to certain death. He’ll share that story and the tale of his summit of Mount Everest with blind climber Erik Weihenmayer, at a Sept. 5 dinner benefiting Keshet of the Rockies. The dinner, held in the BMH/BJ Congregation social hall, also honors Vicki Trachten-Schwartz for her years as a community volunteer. For details, call Lola Zussman, 303-399-4130, or Fran Heller, 303-377-1191.
Saving the best for last
Another triumph – this one, over breast cancer – was celebrated last Sunday when newlyweds Dawn and Phil Garcia were feted at a late-afternoon reception hosted by her mother, Roselyn Saunders. The former Dawn Johnson was diagnosed with aggressive Stage 4 breast cancer in March 2002. She had a radical mastectomy, followed by double-doses of chemotherapy and a daily course of radiation for four months, and eventually won the battle.
“It was a horrible time for us,” her mom recalled, but when the treatment was eventually declared successful, Roselyn and her son, David Self, treated Dawn and her daughters to a vacation in Maui. The family returned to the Hawaiian island some five years later – this past July 17, to be exact – to see Dawn exchange wedding vows with Garcia. “It was so wonderful to see them married on a beautiful bluff overlooking the ocean, and to see her looking so happy and healthy,” Roselyn continued.
The bridegroom, toasted at the reception by his mother-in-law as “an amazing man,” works at Medtronic, where his duties include helping brain surgeons position the high-tech equipment on patients’ heads. “I want the fairytale to go on and on,” Roselyn said to him as the newlyweds prepared to cut the cake that was served to guests following an island-themed buffet held at Cherry Creek Country Club.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. She also contributes at denverpostbloghouse. com/Denver Seen.
