Presented by West County Area Chapters of
The Guilds of Segerstrom Center for the Arts
All were welcomed at the Duck Club in Irvine on Thursday evening, March 2nd with a delightful concoction of fruit juices and rum as they set the mood for a celebration of New Orleans style Mardi Gras! Guests were then adorned with a flashy kaleidoscope of masks and multi-colored beads while being drawn into the club by the improvisational sounds of The Nonpareil Dixieland Ensemble.
Gail & Jim Daniels of the Stage Door Chapter led the Mardi Gras Parade followed by jazz musician Bruce Babad leading his merry band with other revelers falling in behind
“Laissez les bons temps rouler” was the mood and guests got into the lighthearted temperament in a big way. An upbeat parade featuring King and Queen, Gail and Jim Daniels, embraced all to dance around the room following the obliging band members. One could almost feel the Bourbon Street vibe.
Three Guilds Chairmen Emeritae were in attendance at the West Area Guild event – Gerri Goodreau, Gail Daniels, Lois Adams
This year’s event was planned and organized by Marty Olds and Louise Costa, West Area Guild Event Co-Chairmen, with committee members Delphi Ballinger, Ed Cady, Gail & Jim Daniels, Diana Hardy, Irene Iverson, Susan Kinkade, Jackie Olstad, Darleen Hardwick, Abby Daniels, Judy Keenan, Pat Faust, and Margaret Ann Vincent. Over $6000 was raised to support Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ artistic and education programs.
Judy Van Sise, Carmen Chapter, mugs for the camera
The Guilds of Segerstrom Center for the Arts is one of the largest and most prestigious support groups for a non-profit organization in Orange County. The Guilds, which is comprised of 22 chapters and nearly 1,600 members, is respected and admired for its contributions to Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is emulated by many other arts organizations around the country. Guilds members are Center ambassadors, spreading the word about the Center among their friends and neighbors and encouraging them to enjoy and use this great community resource.
The Guilds raises funds for the Center, Orange County’s largest non-profit arts organization. Guilds members have contributed more than $14 million dollars in support of the Center since their organization was founded. Their support helps the Center to present its renowned performing arts series, which includes dance, Broadway shows, cabaret, jazz, classical music, family entertainment, cutting-edge theater and many free and low cost performances and events. Close to the heart of The Guilds is the Center’s education programs that reach hundreds of thousands of young people and educators each year with performances and arts-in-education programs at the Center and on school campuses.
The Guilds sponsors the Children at the Center initiative, which provides volunteers who assist the Center’s Education Department with bus-ins, the Family Series and other special events attended by young people. During the holiday season, The Guilds also holds its Toy Drive in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots®, which benefits deserving but less fortunate Orange County children. One chapter of The Guilds is Performing Arts Junior (“PAJ”). This chapter provides young people ages 11-18 with opportunities to attend varied performance events and to learn about the performing arts. PAJ members are required to donate community service hours to an arts-service activity each year.
Members of The Guilds know that the arts can change lives, uplift and inspire, and represent and unite the community. Since opening in 1986, the Center has achieved national and international acclaim for the exceptional range and quality of its presentations, and members of The Guilds are proud to be part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts family.
Darleen Hardwick, Carmen Chapter, stands in front of her painstakingly created Mardi Gras Mask which became the focal point of numerous pictures
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.
Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center traces its roots back to the late 1960s when a dedicated group of community leaders decided Orange County should have its own world-class performing arts venue.
As Orange County’s largest non-profit arts organization, Segerstrom Center for the Arts owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Founders Hall, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Education Center’s studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. A spacious arts plaza anchors Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is home to numerous free performances throughout the year as part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ ongoing Free for All series.
The Center presents a broad range of programming each season for audiences of all ages from throughout Orange County and beyond, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. It offers many education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. These programs reach hundreds of thousands of students of all ages with vital arts-in-education programs, enhancing their studies and enriching their lives well into the future.
In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony® Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region’s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
Carmen, Center Stage, and Stage Door Chapters of The Guilds
provide ongoing support of Segerstrom Center for the Arts
and its varied community and education programs.
Diana Hardy
