2006 Art & Innocence Gala Celebration Festival

“Dreams Do Come True”

By Val-Jeanné Jupiter

Starlight; Star bright; first star I see tonight; I wish I may I wish I might have the wish I Wish tonight…..This rhyme has been recited by many kids over the years, and on Saturday September 20th 2006, I had the pleasure of attending the 3rd Annual Art and Innocence Gala Celebration Festival held in the 3rd Pavilion of the World Market Center, co-hosted by Carolyn & Mayor Oscar Goodman, Brett Torino (Owner of the Torino Ranch Foundation) and by Project Sunshine of Nevada. Project Sunshine of Nevada, is a private non-profit organization dedicated to providing a nurturing, fun, educational and safe recreational camping experience for children with neurological/bleeding disorders, arthritis, critical illnesses, and for children who have been abandoned, abused or neglected.

Executive director and founder Kari Tillman states that this celebration serves as our primary avenue for raising money to create a safe, cost-free haven that will allow many children to participate in a comfortable fun atmosphere, with other children who are in similar circumstances. For many children, this camp is a rare opportunity that lets them focus on something other than their illness or current situations.

Highlights of the evening included surprise entertainment and live presentations, the first public exhibition display of Brett Torino’s “Rare Muscle Car Collection,” showing off some of the rarest muscle cars in the world, funny & entertaining comedy by comedienne Jay Leno and jamming grooves by the World Classic Rockers featuring band members from the groups; Santana; Eagles; Toto; Journey; Lynyrd Skynard & Steppenwolf.

So…sit back and relax as I take you on a fantastic journey through the evening festivities.

The first thing to hit you upon entering through the black curtains to the Pavilion was a dazzling display of colorful vintage neon lighted signs to the right and left of you that created a pathway for you to walk down. The interesting thing about these lighted signs was that they weren’t just your ordinary signs. They were different lighted names of car logos that represented the various kinds of muscle cars that were on display from Brett Torino’s car collection. Some of the car logo names displayed in lights were; Chevrolet, Dodge, Lincoln, Pontiac & Plymouth just to name a few. The décor of the pavilion was very colorful. There were green, yellow, orange & red table cloths covering the surrounding outer tables. The reserved tables had blue table cloths on them & pretty floral centerpieces. Brent Torino’s muscle car collection surrounded the outer perimeters of the tables, so that you could look at them in leisure. For all of you out there who are car buffs, one could definitely say they died and went to car heaven. Although, I’m not a real car enthusiast, I will say that there were some “awesome looking cherried cars on display.”

When I asked Brett Torino what his favorite car was, he said he liked his 1969 Pontiac Trans Am convertible. I must say he was right. It is an exceptional looking muscle car done in “Cameo White” with two blue racing stripes going down the back and a rear spoiler going across the back of the trunk. This car was one of four built with a 4-speed manual transmission. There were only eight of these cars built, and only seven are known to have survived. Some of the other classic muscle cars displayed were the 1969 Chevrolet Camero done in “Dusk Blue Metallic.” This car was 1 of 69 cars built to legalize the engine for NHRA Drag Racing. A 1970 Buick GSX done in a “Saturn Yellow.” This muscle car also sports black racing stripes with red trim across the sides of the car with front and rear spoilers and a 1967 Belvedere GTX HEMI Convertible done in “Dark Blue Metallic.” This muscle car was only 1 of 17 built with the 426 HEMI engine and 4-speed manual transmission. This GTX was the top-of-the-line for Plymouth. They wound up selling 680 of these convertibles.

Now that your curiosity has been peaked, come join me at the different arrays of scrumptious Food, desserts and tantalizing drink concoctions that were on display that is sure to wet your appetites. This was “my” favorite part. For all you food lovers out there, this was like being in a food smorgasbord. There were so many delectable delights to try; I didn’t know where to begin.

Much of the food was provided by the generous restaurants such as Nobu, Boa, Sushi Roku, The Palms Restaurant, Joe’s Seafood & Stone Crab, Chinois, Tao Asian Bistro, RM Seafood & others. My first sampling of food was this incredible Chinese fusion called “Tuna Ta Ta” that was served in a sesame sweet corn cone and a chicken salad put out by Chinois Restaurant located inside The Forum Shops at Caesar’s. It was very yummy. I then got to sample a seared tuna sashimi salad & Miso marinated black cod put out by Nobu Restaurant, located inside the Hard Rock Hotel. This particular delicacy was so tender and warm; it melted in your mouth like honey. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fish lover. Next, I sampled a lobster bisque soup put out by RM Seafood, located inside of Mandalay Bay. If you like soup, this is definitely one that’s a must order. The chocolate mousse they had for sampling was so light and fluffy, that it was like eating cotton candy.
 
The Tuna Rolls put out by Sushi Roku Restaurant, also located inside the Forum Shops at Caesar’s were to die for.

Joe’s Seafood & Stone Crab, located inside the Forum Shops at Caesar’s had it going on with the desserts. They had a frothy cool tasting key lime mini tart in an edible shell (Mmmmm) and a creamy whipped chocolate fudge mini tart (heavenly). A must try for all you chocolate lovers out there. Of course I can’t forget about the very colorful Chi Chi Salad, consisting of bacon, shrimp, green beans & tomatoes or the delectable Artichoke Palm Salad, consisting of crumbled cooked eggs, black olives, heart of palms & tomatoes. This salad would be very refreshing & healthy on a hot day. The tasty dishes were put out by the Palm Restaurant located inside the Forum Shops at Caesar’s.

Joe's Seafood

Well, after having sampled all these delicious goodies, I needed to have some liquid refreshment to wash down the food. Now, for those of you who like to step out on the wild side and let your hair down (and anything else) and party (wooohooo) you will love this next part. What’s the use of having good food with out drink? Well, let me tell you. The wine and cocktails were provided by Southern Wine & Spirits and in addition, there were some very exotic drinks that I tasted, put out by some of the popular top nightclubs in Las Vegas like; Tao; OPM; Tabu; Ultra Lounge, Studio 54 and V Bar. Some of the exotic drinks were all signature specialty drinks of the above mentioned nightclubs. The displays of the different centerpieces & glasses at the various cocktail areas were tastefully decorated.

Tabu


Tao

There was a refreshing crisp apple martini put out by Studio 54, a scintillating pomegranate martini put out by OPM Nightclub, a sizzling sultry patron mango puree margarita put out by Tabu Restaurant located inside the MGM, a raspberry martini put out by V Bar located inside The Venetian. Two of my favorite cocktails which I would definitely recommend, would be the Tao Tini-consisting of Raspberry Stoli, Malibu Rum, Absolut Mandarin, Cranberry Juice, Sweet & Sour, splash of fresh lime and garnished with a raspberry. This tropical delight was put out by The TAO Nightclub. My second favorite (not for light weights) was the “Crack House,” consisting of Blackberry Schnapps, Peach Schnapps & Cranberry Juice. This drink was served in a shot glass and was so smooth going down, that it would definitely put anyone in the mood for amour. This drink was put out by the Hogs & Heifers Saloon of Las Vegas, where a shot of Jack Daniels is the “Favorite House Drink.” said Shawn, Chivon & Kim. Three of the vivacious girls that work for
Hogs & Heifers Saloon.

Hogs & Heifers Saloon

There were some very talented artists there as well, doing live demonstrations. One particular young lady named Jennifer Main, did this poignant painting of an original oil on canvas called the heart. It was a picture of a boy holding up a heart. This painting was one of the items that were being auctioned off. Someone bid $5,000 for the painting and won it. There were several other items being auctioned off including “The Last Day” painting by the artist Dray, Super Bowl XLI VIP Package, which incidentally went for $13,000. Steve Barton’s “Sailors Cove” picture was auctioned off and was purchased at the price of $5,000. The largest sum of money spent for an auctioned item was the Project Sunshine Camp Sponsorship where the highest bidder gets the honor of being the sponsor for the 2007 Camp. This prestigious item went for a whopping $65,000.00.

The live auctioneering part was fun. Jay Leno made it very entertaining as he participated with Robin Leach in doing some of the auctioneering along with Christian Kolberg. I’d have to say that my only problem with this set-up though, is that Christian Kolberg, who is an awesome professional auctioneer, should have been the one to do the main auctioneering along with the accompaniment of Jay Leno. I’ve seen him in action on more than one occasion, and I must say that he definitely has it going on. He’s very animated and entertaining and funny. But most of all, he puts his heart & soul into what he does and interacts with the audience. If the coordinators for this event would have utilized his talents and let him do what he does best, I know they would have gotten even higher bids on the items being auctioned.

Well, now that we’ve journeyed through the food, drink and live auction portion, let’s get jiggy with the live entertainment part. Can you say party? I’m here to tell you that there definitely was a dance party in the house. Everybody was grooving to the jamming tunes of the World Classic Rockers. And boy did they play some classic music. The group was made up of former band members from different rock bands. We had Michael Monarch who was the original guitar player for Steppenwolf. By the way, if you want to check him out you can go to his website; michaelmonarch.com . It’s ok by him. Then we had Randall Hall, former lead guitarist and vocalist for Lynyrd Skynyrd; Alex Ligertwood, lead singer of Santana; Aynsley Dunbar, original drummer for Journey; Fergie Frederiksen, former lead singer of Toto, Nick St. Nicholas, founder of the 1960’s band, The Sparrow, which soon became Steppenwolf; Rosilee, vocalist; Steve Stewart, one of the industry’s incredible Hammond B-3 players; and David Coyle, a rising star in his own right. “And ladies…He’s a Hottie!”

The band really rocked the house. They played hit-after-hit rock and roll classic tunes like; Born To Be Wild, Hotel California, Black Magic Woman, Free Bird, Separate Ways, Sweet Home Alabama, Hold the Line, Take it Easy, Magic Carpet Ride, Africa, Anyway You Want It, and many others. The music was so awesome, I felt like I was being transported back in time. Blasts from the past. The World Classic Rockers really had the audience on their feet. The guitar players even walked out into the audience while they played and interacted with the people. It was great to see everyone having a great time!

In closing, I hope you enjoyed your adventure with me, to the 3rd Annual 2006 Art and Innocence Gala Celebration Festival. Until next time, I bid you adieu.