PEACH WEEKENDER | AROUND TOWN

Searching for a pot of gold

3/16/2017
BY BARBARA HENDEL
BLADE SOCIETY EDITOR
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    Dr. Ruth Alteneder welcomes guests to the Toledo Symphony League's Luck of the Irish party.

  • ■ ST. PATRICK’S day is Friday, and pubs will open early for breakfast of green eggs and ham, bacon, sausages, potatoes and maybe some bubble and squeak, drisheen (pudding), and Irish soda bread. Of course, beer goes without saying for the hardy revelers.

    Many area folks got a head start as they followed the rainbow in search of a pot of gold.

    ■ THE LUCK of the Irish Party of Note fund-raiser for the Toledo Symphony League featured “wearin’ of the green,” the eating of green foods and, of course, the drinking of green beer.

    The event, at Caper’s Restaurant in South Toledo, included classic Irish music provided by Toraigh an Sonas, a local ensemble that regularly plays at the Blarney and the Stones Throw Tavern in Bowling Green as members and guests sporting green attire gadded about.

    Mmm. A Jiggs dinner and Kerrygold mac and cheese sated appetites.

    An Irish-themed raffle table had all kinds of items, including a Waterford Crystal vase, a bottle of Jameson Black Label (with whiskey stones), a bottle of Bushmills Black (with whiskey stones) and a green basket.

    Gene Phlegar purchased a lab-created four-leaf clover on an 18-karat chain.

    A pot of gold ($3,267) was raised from the dessert buffet, auction, and raffles to support a fourth scholarship for the Young Artists competition winners. The Young Artists competition has grown so much that a fourth scholarship is being provided this year. The winners, Isabella Banks, Soyoung Cho, Catherine Lu, and Jack Naglick, performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, as well as the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestra.

    Among the nearly 75 members and guests were Ruth Alteneder, Carolyn Eldridge, Pam and Allen Pilz, Joyce Stenberg, Kathy and Marvin Scheer, Jeanene Pifer, Irene Brooks, and Sue Meadows,  Symphony League member and the owner of Caper’s, who donated the use of her pub for the event.

    Sponsors included league member Rusty Phlegar and her hisband, Gene, and league member Beth Bowman and her husband Ted Bowman, who were all at the party.

    ■ GREEN, purple, and gold beads and masks set the scene for a Mardi Gras party hosted by Michael and Sharon Sordyl at Barr’s Public house in Maumee.

    But the real focus was the tasty food all prepared by Mr. Sordyl — turtle soup, ham and shrimp jambalaya, sausage, chicken jambalaya, shrimp with mustard remoulade sauce, crawfish etouffee, cheddar and jalapeno rolls, cornbread, and pecan pie.

    In lieu of hostess gifts, guests were invited to donate to one of three charities: the Valentine Theatre, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and the American Cancer Society for pancreatic cancer research. More than $3,000 was raised.

    Among the about 75 attendees were Ann Strause, Bruce Denman and Barbe Fisher, Carroll Ashley, Greg and Rebecca Shope, Joel and Clare Gorski, Amy Smith, Kenneth Endicott and Susan Namay, George and Kay Namay, Linde Webb, Rex Decker, and Ralph and Karen DeNune.

    ■ A NEW group, the Toledo Club Explorers, got off to a rousing start recently with a visit to evolving and seldom-seen spots at the Toledo Museum of Art. 

    Adam Levine, associate director of the museum, hosted as the group toured the Kehinde Wiley exhibit, visited the new 7,000-square-foot gallery that is still being planned, and peeked at curiosities deep in the basement. Spearheaded by John Fedderke, the group of Toledo Club members are  slated to meet once a month to see Toledo area places.

    Contact Barbara Hendel at: bhendel@theblade.com, 419-724-6124.