Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Sculpture exhibit celebrated at NICA's new home

Elizabeth Foyt

Wednesday, May 12, 1999 | 3:07 a.m.

With new quarters providing additional gallery and educational outreach space, Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art was proud to welcome more than 700 guests to the opening of "Chromoform: Color In Sculpture," an exhibition underwritten by Pioneer Citizens Bank and Sprint.

The exhibit, which is being shared with the community through May 22, is a free offering and available for individuals and groups alike at the NICA center, inside The Arts Factory, 101 E. Charleston Blvd. NICA's hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturdays, noon-5 p.m.

Seen enjoying the richness of the art and the magnificent buffet supper provided by The Beach, with wines donated by Barley's Casino, were local supporters including: Jim and Pattie Crockett with their daughter, Catherine, Dolores Nast, Suzanne LeBlanc, Tom Coleman, Nancy Deaner, NICA Board Chairman Phil Peckman and Rick Tuttle. Also seen strolling in the crowd were Julie Ganney, Carol Spiegel, Brad Burch, Kathy and George Garlock, Andrea Thomas, Romie and Larry Semenza and Mark Zackman, as well as NICA's departing development director, Arlene Blut.

Pint-sized players

Las Vegas is a generous city, evidenced by the many child-oriented organizations and civic programs which help our youth. Rising in popularity with students as our population grows is the Nevada Youth Football League, a nonprofit organization.

NYFL provides 7- to-15-year-olds the opportunity to play organized sports and learn important lessons at an early age. The goal of NYFL is to teach players responsibility, accountability and sportsmanship while providing a sense of belonging, family values and an alternative to gangs, crime and drugs. In its "must play" rules, it provides each youngster with a fair share of plays in each game, in addition to a tutoring program to help players keep up or excel at their academic studies.

On July 3, the NYFL will host its first Sports Show and Auction at Palace Station, with a live and silent auction of sports and celebrity memorabilia. In addition, donated items from local businesses will be offered. Also slated is an autograph session with NFL players and a sports merchandise sale. Contact Richard Gubbe at 873-1185 for further details.

Wynn honored

Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow hosted its second annual Notte di Carnevale at Bellagio on Saturday evening. Elegant in the extreme, the occasion drew a committed support group including: Gov. Kenny and Dema Guinn, Caesars Palace President Paul O'Neil and his wife, Judy, Lovee Arum, Lynn Shoen, Susan Irwin Molasky, Mike Cahlan, Phil Hernandez, Jewel Brooks and University Regent Thalia Dondero with Kitty Rodman and Claudine Williams.

Janet Frasier Blumen, chairman and founder of F.I.T., looked glowingly happy as she welcomed attendees to the reception and silent auction, which prefaced the awards dinner. Arriving with her husband and family members was Elaine Wynn, the evening's honoree. F.I.T., working in our own community, seeks to make fundamental changes in the lives of individual women, enabling them to escape the cycle of financial dependence and lead productive lives. Scholarships to higher education opportunities and one-on-one mentoring are keystones to the success of this outstanding program.

Dancing was an integral part of this magical evening, with many taking to floor between the courses of the leisurely paced gourmet dinner. Seen swaying to the music were Judge Bill and Nora Jansen, Steve and Chantal Cloobeck, David and Jacque Matthews, Jim and Judy Kropid and Beverly and Mike Mykiessen. Kirk and Tracy Anderson, of The Highway Stations, KHWY 98.9-FM and KHYZ 99.5-FM, served on the dinner committee and hosted a table including Tom Bruny, Heidi and Jeff Pratt, Suzanne Chabre, Judy Robinson, Bryan Foster with Robyne Jay and Andy Olson. Seen in the crowd, making certain the event flowed smoothly, was Joanne Blystone, as well as Nancy Weinstein, Mary Winter Eisner, Mia Renshaw and D'le Beatty-Tobias, all of whom serve on F.I.T.'s board of directors.

Grant McPhearson, executive chef for Bellagio, and his most able team of fellow chefs and servers, created a superb menu much enjoyed by Bobby and Donna Baldwin, Sen. Richard and Bonnie Bryan, Lou Gammage, UNLV football Coach John Robinson and his wife, Mark Brandenberg, Kathleen England and Christine Waliker. Caesars Palace executives in attendance included Vice President Phil Cooper and his wife, Kathy, as well as George Markatonis, Danielle Strong and John and Sally Yaskin. Others glimpsed in the crowd included Bill and Jean Curran, Kim Zukowski, David and Susan Cassidy and Don and Dr. Maria Chairez.

Scholarship awarded

Neil Ryan Guieb was recently awarded the annual Station Casinos Academic Scholarship to UNLV. The scholarship is an annual award to a student who has a parent employed at any of Station Casino's Southern Nevada properties. The generous award provides $2,500 per school year for four years, requiring that the recipient maintain a 3.0 grade-point average to remain eligible. Guieb's mother, Ruth Reyes, is a general ledger accountant at Southwest Gaming, the company's slot machine route operator. Guieb will graduate in June from the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and Performing Arts. At UNLV, he plans to major in computer science and minor in business management.

Cooking for kids

The annual Chefs for Kids dinner, easily one of our city's most beloved events, will be held May 22 at Mandalay Bay. The hotel-casino's executive chef, David Kellaway, has created a masterful menu of delights for the special evening. With the very talented members of the Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas participating, this benefit will offer at auction an array of much-coveted private dinners, special event catering and other assorted gourmet moments.

Chefs for Kids is a nonprofit initiative of the Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas. Monthly, these busy professionals set aside time to work with the children of our city's most at-risk schools, serving them bountiful and very healthy breakfasts and teaching them the fundamentals of good nutrition. In addition, the dinner proceeds will pay the salaries of nutritionists from the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, who work on issues of nutrition with young children in first and second grades. The dinner will be black-tie optional, with tickets priced at $125 per person. Call 258-8011 for reservations and further details.

Historical gala

In the 1940s, a significant migration occurred, bringing many men, and later their families, to Las Vegas from the small community of Fordyce, Ark. These hardy, black pioneers faced many obstacles in their travels, but found real opportunity in this desert town, and stayed to raise their families, attend school and create the city we know today. Their struggles have been chronicled in a documentary entitled "The Road West -- A Black Perspective," a program shown on both local and national public broadcast stations in recent years.

In the late 1970s, in recognition of this bond and their Southern roots, these individuals and their descendents banded together to form the Las Vegas chapter of the Fordyce Club. On May 29, the Fordyce Club, Las Vegas chapter, will host its 21st annual Black and Gold Ball at Arizona Charlie's. Dancing, hors d'oeuvres and door prizes will be offered during the evening in the hotel's Palace Grand Ballroom. Tickets are $20 per person, with reservations available by calling 639-6254, 648-5598 or 648-0166.

Trio of fund-raisers

In the mood to walk (and eat) on the wild side? Certainly, an event slated for Sunday has appeal for all of us who love animals. Keepers of the Wild, a nonprofit exotic animal sanctuary based in Las Vegas, will host dual fund-raisers at Bix's restaurant, 4455 S. Buffalo Drive.

At 11:00 a.m., there will be a preview of the wondrous silent auction items, while the live auction will be held at 1:00 p.m. Tickets for the midday event are $10, and include a special animal presentation as well as wine, cheese, fruit and raffle prizes. That evening, an elegant five-course dinner will be prepared by Bix's executive chef, John Ciborski, with tickets for the evening priced at $100 per person.

Keepers of the Wild and its sponsor, Bix's restaurant, will use the funds raised for the animal sanctuary and a children's educational facility, as well as continue its work to shelter abused and neglected wild animals. Contact Keepers of the Wild at 222-1803 for further details, or stop by the restaurant to purchase advance tickets.

And also slated for Sunday is the Jewish Family Service Agency's art auction at the Milton I. Schwartz Hebrew Academy, 9700 West Hillpointe Road. Admission to the auction is $10 per person or $18 per couple. A vast array of art in many mediums will be offered for sale, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the JFSA for its many local service efforts, including family counseling, senior case management and a Holocaust survivor program. For further details on the event or JFSA, please call 732-0304.

Welcome backHome again from their travels are Zel and Mary Lowman, longtime Las Vegas residents. Their most recent trip took them to New York City, where their participated in an alumni reunion of 50 former members of the Girl Scouts' national board. Mary, now a successful realtor in our community, served the Western states as regional chairman from 1975-78.

Prior to that meeting, the Lowmans spent several days with grandson Nathan Lowman, a native Las Vegan now attending New York University as a visual arts major. Further travels in the area included visits with Mary's cousin, Earl Miler, and his wife, Mary Lou, both frequent visitors to our city. The couple's trip concluded with a journey down memory lane in Washington, D.C., where Zel was assigned to the Bureau of Naval Personnel during the Korean War.