Dine & D’art could, I suppose, be compared to the Running of the Brides at Filene’s Basement.
This benefit for ArtReach involves a mad, albeit controlled, scramble to score a desired object, yet has none of the pushing, pulling and screaming that marked the department store’s annual one-day sale of wedding gowns at rock-bottom prices. Dine & D’art-ers wait till their names are called before rushing to pin their tag on a favorite painting, photograph, sculpture or piece of wearable art that has been donated by prominent artists and collectors.
Running of the Brides ended when Filene’s filed for bankruptcy last November; Dine & D’art 2012, which took place Feb. 4 at Mile High Station, was so successful that plans already are underway for next year.
Lark Katchur and Joe McCormack chaired the event that also included presentation of the Ginger Merelli Special Events Volunteer Award to Daphyne Reiff, music by students from Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts and a live auction called by Rick Rolph.
The Merelli Award carries a $1,000 stipend to be donated to the nonprofit of the recipient’s choice which, in Reiff’s case, is Families First.
An 11-year volunteer at Families First and member of the agency’s governing board, Reiff will chair its signature fundraiser, Steppin’ Out, to be held March 16 at the Ritz-Carlton Denver.
The rush to snap up one’s first choice in art requires that guests be fleet of foot, so everyone is encouraged to wear comfy shoes under their tuxedos or ball gowns. Which results in some creative ensembles.
Footwear this year included Converse tennies; Keds, Merrell, Nike and New Balance Gel running shoes; and a lone pair of black stilettos.
“I goofed,” admitted wearer Ryta Sondergard. “I had to go to another event first and neglected to put my tennis shoes in the car.”
Brad Ramsey, an artist, hairdresser and amateur herpetologist, hand-painted his shoes in bold blocks of black and white and took a paintbrush to his skinny jeans to adorn them with splashes of color. He found them, along with a velvet Canali jacket, at Goodwill. His partner, Frank Valdez, was in a tuxedo that looked like it had been tailor-made for him. He said he had picked it up for $9, also at Goodwill.
Executive director Karla Johnson-Grimes stayed on her toes throughout the evening, welcoming first-time supporters and thanking the “regulars,” folks like board president Cindy Bell; such board members as Jean Bushong, Eric Matelski, Kevin Fonk, Denise Seery, Alexandra Hoy and Cindy Hayes with her mom, Bernadette Berger; Dan Jones, manager of Nordstrom Cherry Creek, and his partner, Greg Miller; Louise Richardson; Joe and Pam Ignat; Molly Ross; D’art-ing partners Chad Gonzales of Jackson National and Patricia Miller of UBS Financial; Mary and John Hencmann; Jo Blum; Nancy and John Bernstein; Teresa Kennedy; and Kenton Kuhn of Blacktie-Colorado, who enjoys this event so much that he interrupted a vacation in Keystone to attend — and planned to drive back to the mountain resort once it had ended.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and
