VERO BEACH — You didn’t have to look far to find the real treasure at the Treasure Nights Trunk Show Extravaganza Thursday night – it came in the form of the five ladies who call themselves the Friends of Vero.
“It’s a collaboration of some wonderful ladies,” said Amy Selby, Springhill Suites by Marriott Vero Beach sales director, and a member of the kind-hearted quintet.
“We love this community and we wanted to do something fun and give something back. I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of friends.”
Her Friends of Vero cohorts are Georgia Irish, Marine Bank vice president and bank manager, Judith Lennox, skincare specialist and owner of Judith of Vero, Beverly Weaver, graphic designer and owner of Beverly Weaver Graphics, and Shannon Rahjes, skincare specialist and owner of Radiance by Shannon.
“We wanted to do something to bring together local businesses and give back to some charities,” said Selby of the animated pirate-themed event, which featured a mix of 44 vendors, great food and casino gaming, to benefit the Harvest Food and Outreach Center and Riverside Theatre.
“Cindy [Hejlik, community relations coordinator for Harvest Food and Outreach] is a dear friend of ours, and we appreciate all she does for our community. And Riverside is such a great venue, and does wonderful things for the community as well. For a first time event, it’s pretty amazing. We’ve already raised more than $11,000 through sponsorships and vendor tables, and that doesn’t even include ticket sales.”
Georgia Irish lauded the efforts of Riverside Theatre’s Jon Moses, managing director, Michael Kohler, event coordinator, Patti Roony, controller and Oscar Sales, marketing director, saying, “We’re like this tight knit group now. They’ve been hugely supportive.”
“All these wonderful food vendors are donating their food and their time,” added Amy Selby, of the tasty concoctions which included passed appetizers by Culinary Capers Catering, savory dishes by Pippa Movida, Cork & Tappas, Waldos Restaurant, Sumo House and Southern Comfort, and sweet treats by Sweet Creations, Classy Cupcakes and Kilwin’s Ice Cream.
Georgia Irish encouraged the crowds to, “Shop, shop, shop!”
And it was easy to do with such a wide variety of products and services – including exquisite jewelry and artfully designed fashions, must-have personal care products and services, miniature fairy gardens, and Highwaymen paintings.
A treasure map creatively denoted the various vendor and activity areas, spaciously set up throughout the Orchid Lobby, Waxlax theatre, and the “Crow’s Nest” upstairs.
Raffle tickets could be purchased for chances to win prizes donated by each of the vendors, and in the lobby there was an additional chance to purchase a number of silent auction items.
Selby and Irish even put their husbands to work on a hole-in-one putting contest, manned by Duane Selby and inventively constructed by Bob Irish. For a small donation, players could test their putting skills for a chance at winning one of three golf outings donated by area clubs.
“This is better than what I’d envisioned,” enthused Georgia Irish. “It’s such a supportive community. Our vendors have done an outstanding job. We asked the vendors to showcase their latest and greatest, and we kept the tickets low so that people would come out and buy.”
“I expected nothing less of the ladies who are running it,” said Lisa Davidson, owner of Shells & Things. “It’s very well organized and attended. And it’s not even season yet.”
Vero Beach Mayor Pilar Turner gazed in amazement at the Santa which artist Ruth Ann Holt has created for this year’s Riverside Children’s Theatre Festival of Trees, scheduled for Nov. 16 to 18.
“It’s spectacular; it’s absolutely spectacular!” said Turner of the stunning, life-sized Santa sporting a full-length, mink lined vintage Ted Lapidus coat and sparkly Swarovski eyelashes.
“I think it’s an interesting adventure,” said stalwart Riverside Theatre supporter Dick Stark. “The variety is very impressive; it’s delightful.”
Taking a break from shopping, Karel Smith Fox was amused by Pippa Movita’s mini martini glass servings of chili saying with a laugh, “This is just too fabulous! I think it’s a fun night. I hope they raise a lot of money for Harvest Food.”
“It’s a tremendous thing that they’ve done,” said Jon Moses. “Let’s hear it for the Friends of Vero!” He reminded the crowd to come back to the theater the following week, saying, “One week from tonight we open the season with Ain’t Misbehavin’.”
“I was flabbergasted when I saw the parking lot,” said Harvest Food board member Don Drinkard, impressed by the attendance and the donations of nonperishable foodstuffs which overflowed a treasure chest at the entryway.
“I’m overwhelmed; we’re just ecstatic. We can’t thank them enough. I thank the community too – this is an amazing turnout.”
“We envision this as an annual event,” said Georgia Irish, noting that they hope to maintain the working partnership with Riverside Theatre, and benefit different charities each year.
“It’s been incredible how many people wanted to be involved.”