Picnic in Provence
Blackridge Garden Club
Bloomin’ Corners Benefit
March 13, 2015
Blackridge Garden Club
Bloomin’ Corners Benefit
March 13, 2015
Beautiful weather and inspiring support for the Blackridge Garden Club Bloomin’ Corners Benefit brought 88 community faithful to beautiful Longue Vue Club for our Provence-themed fundraiser. Provence inspired us to use cobalt blue and sunflower yellow colors throughout the living and dining areas, along with market baskets filled with lemons, lavender sprigs and pots of either lavender or rosemary. These herbs are grown abundantly in the Provence region and are used in their namesake, herbes de Provence, along with thyme and sweet savory! The food was French-inspired; a sample of the menu had patrons starting with brie and other cheeses on the appetizer table, moving to salad Nicoise, quiches, chicken corden bleu and, of course, a pomme frites-French fries-station! Chocolate croissants along with éclairs enticed folks to the dessert table.
But the new and French inspired café backdrop in our photo booth really injected a huge dose of fun to this year’s event. Ever-talented Tara Taylor and Gary Pete (thank you, thank you, thank you) created an absolutely beautiful backdrop of a boulangerie (bakery) with a title of Café de Crete Noire (Café Blackridge)!!! With plenty of props, our guests enjoyed posing and vamping in our booth for memorable pictures of the evening.
The fabulous raffle prizes went to:
Dine and Drink gift cards to state/beer stores and Altius—Cathy Gazzo
Nordstrom gift card—Judy Schryer
Golf at LVC for four with lunch—Samuel Viggiano
Cleveland Botanic Gardens with stay at Courtyard Marriott—Margaret Lucas
50/50 winner—Gary Pete
Chance Auction baskets:
The Forest—Interior Décor/Provence themed—AJ Percuric
The McNary—Guys—Crawford Murton
The Jamestown—Gardening—Gary Pete
The Orlando—Cultural—Norma Dixler
The Collins—Healthy Cooking—Wanda Hughes
The Osage—Ladies—Cara Fleischman
The Blackridge—Chocolate n’at—Jeanette Trauth
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WINNERS!!!!!!!
It was a winning night for so many, especially the Blackridge Garden Club, who thanks everyone who so generously donated to our Corners (especially the Blackridge Old Gate damaged sign) maintenance and landscape fundraiser. We are so lucky to be a part of a truly amazing and unique community, surrounded by so many wonderful friends and neighbors who care about each other and where we live!
BGC volunteers beautify our signature Blackridge entrance corners and the grounds surrounding the Blackridge Civic Association clubhouse. Your patronage of the Bloomin’ Corners Benefit helps to finance these efforts, and helps support local BGC service projects, including those for the BCA and the Blackridge Swim Club. This year, we especially need your support, as an uninsured driver obliterated the 70-year-old Old Gate/Wm Penn sign and the corner plantings, including a 7-foot tree.
If you are new to Blackridge, please join the many long-time Bloomin’ Corners benefactors, your neighbors, in supporting this year’s Benefit. Everyone’s participation is essential to keeping our corners beautiful. Please do not hesitate to attend the event whether you are on your own or part of a group. This is the perfect evening to mingle!
1. Please buy raffle tickets whether you are able to attend or not. Request raffle tickets from Nancy Del Presto at 412-247-4129 or [email protected] and return to Marlene Dolecki, 2360 Hollywood Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15235. You don’t have to be present to win.
Prizes: You can choose which raffle prize drawing you would like to enter. Please indicate on each ticket which prize you would like to win—one choice per ticket. Tickets are one for $5.00 or six for $25.00.
Vacation package for 4 adults to Cleveland Botanic Gardens, with accommodations for 1 night at the Courtyard Marriott Cleveland University Circle
·Golf for four at Longue Vue Club—includes two carts and lunch
·Drink and Dine—gift cards for wine, spirits, and beer, along with a $100 gift card for Altius Restaurant on Mt Washington
·$400 gift certificate for Nordstrom
2. Join us Friday evening, March 13, 2015 for Picnic in Provence and be transported to the French countryside at our soiree. Request an invitation from Nancy Del Presto at 412-247-4129 or [email protected]. Enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by le petite assiette buffet. As always, the benefit will take place at the historic and beautiful Longue Vue Club, Verona, PA. Dress is cocktail attire, and denim is prohibited at LVC.
7:00-10:00 PM: French music, fabulous chance auction baskets and raffle, cocktails and buffet with fun friends and neighbors, and the premiere of our avant-garde Picnic in Provence photo booth. C’est magnifique!
MENU FOR PICNIC IN PROVENCE
HORS D OEUVRES
Frommage- variety of cheeses along with dried fruits, seasonal berries, nuts
Baked Brie En Croûte topped with almonds, brown sugar
BEVERAGES
Café, Tea, Soda Pop, Iced Tea are complimentary
Beer, Wine and Cocktails may be purchased at cash bar
SALADE STATION
Mixed Spring Greens- with seasonal berries & chèvre
Salade Nicoise
Vichychoisse
French Onion Soup
QUICHE STATION
Quiche Lorraine
Quiche with Spinach and Chèvre
Croque-Monsieur
ENTRÉE STATION
Atlantic Salmon Florentine En Croûte\
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Sliced Beef au Jus (à la French dip)
POMMES FRITES STATION
French Fries with variety of dipping sauces:
Roquefort
Honey Dijon
Curry Ketchup
Chipotle Aioli
Lemon Parmesan
DESSERT/CAFÉ STATION
Chocolate croissants
Éclairs
Assorted Mini Pâtisseries and Puffs
Seasonal Fruit and Berries
Café et tea
Reservations are $ 40.00 per person. The deadline for reservations is Friday, March 6. (Reserved tables for groups of 6 up to 10 will be accepted this year, but these table reservations must be complete, received, and paid for by February 23. No exceptions.) Singles, couples, and groups of friends are welcome. Cash bar. Soda, coffee, and tea are complimentary.
Bloomin’ Corners
Picnic in Provence Agenda
Arrival and Registration of Guests — Cocktail Lounge 7PM
Cocktails and Hors D’Oeuvres — Living Room
Socialize with neighbors / Purchase Basket, raffle ticket and 50/50 tickets
50/50: 1 for $1.00, 6 for $5.00, arm’s length for $10.00
Chance Auction: 1 for $5.00, 6 for $20.00, 14 for $30.00
Raffle: 1 for $5.00, 6 for $25.00, 14 for $30.00
Dinner and Photo Booth — Ballroom 7:45 PM
Open and reserved seating with Petite Plats in Stations
Cash Bar, more mingling and photo booth fun.
Café, tea and dessert displayed back in ~ Living Room 8:15 PM
French Café Photo Booth
Enjoy many classic French props as you sit in an “authentic” boulangerie --
Café Crête Noir or Café Blackridge! Use berets, mustaches, scarves and more to
capture a memorable evening. Use your phone’s camera and share the photos or
use the regular camera for a print of all your photo poses.
Centerpieces
Provence is known for its warm Mediterranean climate and fields of drought-tolerant
shrubs such as lavender, sage, rosemary, wild thyme. Sunflowers are
also grown in the fields of Provence. We chose pots of lavender and rosemary
as centerpieces. Along with the packages of sunflower seeds these centerpieces
can be planted in your home gardens. Centerpieces are free for a guest at
each table.
Welcome and Announcements
Nancy DelPresto, President, Blackridge Garden Club
Benefit Committee
Nancy DelPresto, Tara Taylor, Judy Diorio, Shelley Grotzinger,
Bill Miller, Marlene Dolecki, Rose Guerrieri, EJ Foster
But the new and French inspired café backdrop in our photo booth really injected a huge dose of fun to this year’s event. Ever-talented Tara Taylor and Gary Pete (thank you, thank you, thank you) created an absolutely beautiful backdrop of a boulangerie (bakery) with a title of Café de Crete Noire (Café Blackridge)!!! With plenty of props, our guests enjoyed posing and vamping in our booth for memorable pictures of the evening.
The fabulous raffle prizes went to:
Dine and Drink gift cards to state/beer stores and Altius—Cathy Gazzo
Nordstrom gift card—Judy Schryer
Golf at LVC for four with lunch—Samuel Viggiano
Cleveland Botanic Gardens with stay at Courtyard Marriott—Margaret Lucas
50/50 winner—Gary Pete
Chance Auction baskets:
The Forest—Interior Décor/Provence themed—AJ Percuric
The McNary—Guys—Crawford Murton
The Jamestown—Gardening—Gary Pete
The Orlando—Cultural—Norma Dixler
The Collins—Healthy Cooking—Wanda Hughes
The Osage—Ladies—Cara Fleischman
The Blackridge—Chocolate n’at—Jeanette Trauth
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WINNERS!!!!!!!
It was a winning night for so many, especially the Blackridge Garden Club, who thanks everyone who so generously donated to our Corners (especially the Blackridge Old Gate damaged sign) maintenance and landscape fundraiser. We are so lucky to be a part of a truly amazing and unique community, surrounded by so many wonderful friends and neighbors who care about each other and where we live!
BGC volunteers beautify our signature Blackridge entrance corners and the grounds surrounding the Blackridge Civic Association clubhouse. Your patronage of the Bloomin’ Corners Benefit helps to finance these efforts, and helps support local BGC service projects, including those for the BCA and the Blackridge Swim Club. This year, we especially need your support, as an uninsured driver obliterated the 70-year-old Old Gate/Wm Penn sign and the corner plantings, including a 7-foot tree.
If you are new to Blackridge, please join the many long-time Bloomin’ Corners benefactors, your neighbors, in supporting this year’s Benefit. Everyone’s participation is essential to keeping our corners beautiful. Please do not hesitate to attend the event whether you are on your own or part of a group. This is the perfect evening to mingle!
1. Please buy raffle tickets whether you are able to attend or not. Request raffle tickets from Nancy Del Presto at 412-247-4129 or [email protected] and return to Marlene Dolecki, 2360 Hollywood Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15235. You don’t have to be present to win.
Prizes: You can choose which raffle prize drawing you would like to enter. Please indicate on each ticket which prize you would like to win—one choice per ticket. Tickets are one for $5.00 or six for $25.00.
Vacation package for 4 adults to Cleveland Botanic Gardens, with accommodations for 1 night at the Courtyard Marriott Cleveland University Circle
·Golf for four at Longue Vue Club—includes two carts and lunch
·Drink and Dine—gift cards for wine, spirits, and beer, along with a $100 gift card for Altius Restaurant on Mt Washington
·$400 gift certificate for Nordstrom
2. Join us Friday evening, March 13, 2015 for Picnic in Provence and be transported to the French countryside at our soiree. Request an invitation from Nancy Del Presto at 412-247-4129 or [email protected]. Enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by le petite assiette buffet. As always, the benefit will take place at the historic and beautiful Longue Vue Club, Verona, PA. Dress is cocktail attire, and denim is prohibited at LVC.
7:00-10:00 PM: French music, fabulous chance auction baskets and raffle, cocktails and buffet with fun friends and neighbors, and the premiere of our avant-garde Picnic in Provence photo booth. C’est magnifique!
MENU FOR PICNIC IN PROVENCE
HORS D OEUVRES
Frommage- variety of cheeses along with dried fruits, seasonal berries, nuts
Baked Brie En Croûte topped with almonds, brown sugar
BEVERAGES
Café, Tea, Soda Pop, Iced Tea are complimentary
Beer, Wine and Cocktails may be purchased at cash bar
SALADE STATION
Mixed Spring Greens- with seasonal berries & chèvre
Salade Nicoise
Vichychoisse
French Onion Soup
QUICHE STATION
Quiche Lorraine
Quiche with Spinach and Chèvre
Croque-Monsieur
ENTRÉE STATION
Atlantic Salmon Florentine En Croûte\
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Sliced Beef au Jus (à la French dip)
POMMES FRITES STATION
French Fries with variety of dipping sauces:
Roquefort
Honey Dijon
Curry Ketchup
Chipotle Aioli
Lemon Parmesan
DESSERT/CAFÉ STATION
Chocolate croissants
Éclairs
Assorted Mini Pâtisseries and Puffs
Seasonal Fruit and Berries
Café et tea
Reservations are $ 40.00 per person. The deadline for reservations is Friday, March 6. (Reserved tables for groups of 6 up to 10 will be accepted this year, but these table reservations must be complete, received, and paid for by February 23. No exceptions.) Singles, couples, and groups of friends are welcome. Cash bar. Soda, coffee, and tea are complimentary.
Bloomin’ Corners
Picnic in Provence Agenda
Arrival and Registration of Guests — Cocktail Lounge 7PM
Cocktails and Hors D’Oeuvres — Living Room
Socialize with neighbors / Purchase Basket, raffle ticket and 50/50 tickets
50/50: 1 for $1.00, 6 for $5.00, arm’s length for $10.00
Chance Auction: 1 for $5.00, 6 for $20.00, 14 for $30.00
Raffle: 1 for $5.00, 6 for $25.00, 14 for $30.00
Dinner and Photo Booth — Ballroom 7:45 PM
Open and reserved seating with Petite Plats in Stations
Cash Bar, more mingling and photo booth fun.
Café, tea and dessert displayed back in ~ Living Room 8:15 PM
French Café Photo Booth
Enjoy many classic French props as you sit in an “authentic” boulangerie --
Café Crête Noir or Café Blackridge! Use berets, mustaches, scarves and more to
capture a memorable evening. Use your phone’s camera and share the photos or
use the regular camera for a print of all your photo poses.
Centerpieces
Provence is known for its warm Mediterranean climate and fields of drought-tolerant
shrubs such as lavender, sage, rosemary, wild thyme. Sunflowers are
also grown in the fields of Provence. We chose pots of lavender and rosemary
as centerpieces. Along with the packages of sunflower seeds these centerpieces
can be planted in your home gardens. Centerpieces are free for a guest at
each table.
Welcome and Announcements
Nancy DelPresto, President, Blackridge Garden Club
Benefit Committee
Nancy DelPresto, Tara Taylor, Judy Diorio, Shelley Grotzinger,
Bill Miller, Marlene Dolecki, Rose Guerrieri, EJ Foster
