Finally Out and About!

I have a confession to make. For someone who blogs about “getting out,” I haven’t been out in almost 3 months! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been home recovering from complications from what was supposed to be outpatient surgery. (Don’t ever let them lie to ya… I’m telling you, gentle readers, get your affairs in order and pack an overnight bag the minute you hear the word “outpatient”).

Three months is a long time! Especially when you live in the downtown Norfolk/Ghent area where there’s always plenty of action. Every time I heard revelers laughing and giggling as they passed by my window from maybe a St. Paddy’s day pub crawl, or the Festevents spring wine festival… well, it was like they were mocking me! Oh, the torture.

Well… I’m finally kinda-sorta out of the woods, so this past weekend, I/we decided to venture out and attend a couple of the great charity events around town. I say I/we because Darling fiancé (I’ll divulge his name at some point… right now, we’ll just refer to him as DF)… anyway DF was participating in a two-day golf tournament, and we didn’t know how much of Saturday or Sunday would have to be sacrificed (I don’t mind. Really, I don’t) so that he can work on improving his golf game. Also, the weather situation was looking pretty precarious, so we had to choose whether we wanted to do outdoor or indoor.

We ended up choosing two very different, but absolutely delightful and enjoyable events. For our Saturday outing, we chose the 25th Anniversary Stockley Gardens Arts Festival to benefit the Hope House Foundation. I regret that we did not get there until almost 7:00 pm (cause: delay of golf game due to weather), so we missed out on the art show itself. We did arrive in time, however, to buy one of the signed posters by artist Tom Barnes (I heard the original went for something like $1,200 as soon as the art show opened). The silent auction was still going strong, and the band Butter was on stage and jamming!

Here is what I enjoyed about this festival. It was truly a community event. You know how you go to some events, and they seem sort of, well… cliquish? Well, not this. It was great to see generation X’ers, Y’ers, Boomers, straight, gay, even four-legged friends all boogieing on the dance floor, and just genuinely enjoying the festive atmosphere. And I don’t think many people are aware, but Hope House, an organization that helps individuals with developmental disabilities live independently always has their clients in attendance at all of their events, thereby truly living up to their mission which states: We believe neighborhoods and communities are enhanced when all the people in them, including those with disabilities, participate fully.

On Sunday, we braved the torrential rain storm to attend a magnificent champagne brunch, Sweet Memories, to benefit the local Alzheimer’s Association chapter and the Hampton Roads Hospice Alliance. One in ten of us have been touched by Alzheimer’s disease. This horrible disease recently took the life of a wonderful, intelligent, generous, vibrant man – my darling fiancé’s father. I will blog about this at a later date.

I’ll tell you what I liked about Sweet Memories (besides the fact that Alzheimer’s is an extremely important cause for me, and that you can’t keep me away from a Sunday champagne brunch especially one with breathtaking views of a marina like those offered by the Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club). I liked that in this economy, where every non-profit is vying for a morsel of the proverbial pie, two organizations saw parallels in what they do and decided to get together to hold a joint fundraiser. Typically, these two organizations solicit the same businesses for sponsorship, as well as try to cultivate the same local philanthropists (now I’m talking development director lingo, so I’ll just stop it!). But kudos all around for thinking outside of the box, and being considerate of donors’ capacity to give.

However, as one who is a bit of a political junkie, and in these polarized political times, I was especially pleased to see Congressman Glenn Nye (D-VA), Virginia Beach Mayor William Sessoms (R?), and State Senator Ralph Northam (D-VA) at this event. Each mentioned that they have a connection to Alzheimer’s (a friend, a grandmother, etc.) further underscoring the point that Alzheimer’s does not discriminate – black, white, Democrat or Republican. It even strikes individuals in their 40’s and 50’s.

All in all, I’m glad I got out and gave back! I even snagged a couple of nifty silent auction items.

(Click to enlarge photo)