Stylish community benefit today
Artisans and like-minded individuals are gathering today for the Season of Style, a benefit event for the Spokane Valley Community Center and Food Bank.
Taking place in the Mirabeau Park Hotel ballroom, it is the first affair of its kind for the community center. “It should be a fun event to participate in as well as give back to the community,” said Anna Henry, the chair and marketplace coordinator of the occasion.
The Valley Community Center, at 10814 E. Broadway Ave., is an umbrella agency that believes in the power of synergy. More than a dozen nonprofit agencies and programs are housed at the community center including Heart, a program for homeless children attending Spokane Valley schools, Safestart and Theater Arts for Children.
The Season of Style benefit will allow attendees to be schooled on the different agencies available in the community, as well as introduce them to locally owned businesses and area artisans.
The tea will consist of a Mirabeau Park Hotel house blend black tea, coffee and an assortment of finger foods designed specifically for the event by the Max Restaurant executive chef Phill Levine. Paula Aubertin, volunteer and tea coordinator, said, “Phill was very helpful. He’s creative, and the morsels themselves are works of art.”
Grape chicken salad, alderwood smoked salmon, and cucumber and cream cheese will be presented on small eatable “saucers.” There also will be a selection of small scones and cookies.
Erin Cress, an eighth-grader at Greenacres Middle School, will be playing classical music on keyboard during the tea.
Music will be followed by a fashion show with clothing by Macy’s, Expecting Style, and A.S.K. Clothing, an appointment-only clothing store in Liberty Lake. There also will be fashion tips by Nordstrom personal shopper Sarah Oswald.
Though the tea and fashion show are for those who purchased tickets, the marketplace is open to the public. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, for a $2 admission fee. Visitors can browse nearly 30 vendors offering an array of items from fashion accessories to functional art.
One vendor is jewelry maker Kelly Hunt. She has been designing jewelry for about two years. The homemaker finds jewelry making relaxing and therapeutic. “It gives me a chance to channel my creativity,” she said.
Another booth will have glass beads, sculptures and functional pieces. The artists, Tim and Lori Bohr, are owners of Glass Gods in Millwood.
Roger Gee from Singing Shaman Traders in Coeur d’Alene also will have a booth. He sells Mexican folk art via fair trade where he pays the artists directly, avoiding the middleman.
There also will be a nonprofit nook where at least a dozen organizations will be selling things from bracelets to wreaths – 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to the organizations. “It’s unusual for a marketplace to have (a nonprofit nook),” Henry said.
The event’s main goal is to help nonprofits finance their efforts. Roger Gee is looking forward to the show. “We’re selling stuff with a little responsibility,” he said.