❒ Benicia goes ‘Project Runway’ — with ’60s theme

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

The Clock Tower was dressed in tie-dye and trimmed with daisies Wednesday afternoon as Benicia’s dignitaries strutted down the catwalk to Beatles music, applause and cheers.

It was all in good fun — and for a good cause, to raise money for the nonprofit Benicia Community Action Council and its Senior Meals Program.

Christina Strawbridge, owner of Christina S, and Claudia Mahrt, owner of Be Chic Boutique, picked the clothing for the “Lucy in the Fashion Sky with Diamonds” luncheon and fashion show, a major fundraiser for the CAC.

They chose summer styles with a touch of London’s Carnaby Street, inspired not only by the 1960s but also by Friday’s royal wedding, Strawbridge said.

This is the second year for the event, staged to help the CAC, an organization that provides a variety of services to less fortunate Benicians, said Helen Estes, who planned the fashion show.

“I was on the CAC board for years and years,” Estes said.

She said while she may have left the board, she did not end her service to the agency. She helped convince some of the models to appear, and others volunteered.

And a few found CAC Executive Director Viola Robertson too convincing to ignore when she asked them to participate.

Mel Orpilla was among those on whom Robertson used her powers of persuasion.

“I didn’t decide to be a model. Viola coerced me!” said Kaiser Permanente’s community and government relations manager.

On the catwalk, Orpilla made his debut in casual grays, pulling off a pair of shades and smiling at the audience.

Some Benicia and Solano County community leaders and political dignitaries also walked the catwalk for charity. Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and City Attorney Heather McLaughlin smiled and stepped lively to the upbeat music, and Vice Mayor Alan Schwartzman joined Betty Jensen, assistant to Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Janice Adams, to stride arm in arm on the carpeted walkway.

Totals for the fundraiser will be calculated later, Robertson said. For her, the crowd and the models, Wednesday’s event was about the entertainment.

“I think the reason for this is all the participants. It’s fun to watch,” said Linda Zaffiro, a Vacaville resident. “It’s a big family affair.”

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The Benicia Community Action Council got another small and much-needed infusion of cash Wednesday.

Supervisor Linda Seifert gave the agency, which provides basic services to Benicia residents in need of assistance, a $500 donation from a discretionary fund in the District 2 office.

Seifert gave the same amount to nonprofits Fighting Back Partnership, the Florence Douglas Senior Center, Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club, and the Solano Land Trust.

Seifert represents Benicia on the county Board of Supervisors.

The CAC will use the funds to provide 100 nutritious meals to home-bound seniors through its Senior Meal Program, according to a news release from Seifert’s office.

“Compared to the need, the $2,500 coming from my district funds is not very much, but the organizations I chose this year to receive funding provide valuable services with few resources and are worthy of our recognition and support,” Seifert said in the release.

Fighting Back Partnership of Vallejo will use its $500 to support Neighborhood Block Watch, a program that organizes neighborhood residents to watch for criminal and suspicious behavior.

Florence Douglas Senior Center, also of Vallejo, has plans to use its money to support programs for seniors through the purchase of a CD player, microphone and CDs for senior dance classes and dances, and to sponsor Spanish classes and purchase books on tape.

The Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club, which provides recreational activities, health information, counseling, computer training, career exploration information as well as daily academic assistance to at-risk youth in Vallejo, will use its donation to assist the club with its plans to take 18 boys and girls on a college tour.

The Solano Land Trust is currently working to help underserved youth groups in Solano County offer exercise activities at some of its properties.

The $500 will provide money for transportation for youth groups to participate in the Kite Festival and the fourth annual Lynch Canyon Trail Run and Community Hike.