Black Tie & Tales

+ Cheering on the troops
For the past few years, Sarasota interior designer Carrie Riley has had the unique opportunity to work with ProTour Productions, a Tampa-based company owned by Sandy Charboneau. ProTours brings a little piece of home to U.S. troops all over the world with various entertainers, NFL players, cheerleaders and mascots. Riley, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader, recently traveled with a group to Camp Zama, in Japan.

“It was my first time in Japan and one of the NFL cheerleaders’ first time ever leaving the US,” says Riley. “What an honor for us to embark on such a journey and show our support for our military. Year after year the pure joy from the troops and their families amazes me.”

Riley was also enthralled with the cultural experience in Japan.

“One of my favorite parts was the amazing vending machines they have throughout the country of Japan,” she says. “It has hot canned or bottled lattes, hot teas, hot coco, etc. in their vending machines — such a brilliant idea we should incorporate here in the states. I was like a little kid trying all the different varieties they had to offer.”

+ Tidbits
Scenes from SPARCCle … Some women were in quite the tizzy when the Ritz-Carlton ran out of white wine at the Feb. 13 SPARCC luncheon, after going through 185 bottles. Luckily it soon came to the rescue after switching brands. Susan Lanier was the lucky winner of the Just Gents gift basket, which she laughed about after announcing to emcees Ken Sons and Les McCurdy that her husband is bald. Prior to attending the luncheon together, Kyla Weiner treated her mom, Judith Yaeger, to a spa day for her birthday … Celebrating friendship … The theme was love and friendship at Nikki Sedacca and Montana Taplinger’s annual Spirit of Friendship luncheon Feb. 11, at 530 Burns Gallery. Standing out among the crowd was Jan Gaudreau’s beautiful high heels. She reports they actually belong to daughter Lauren, but she currently lives in cold weather, so Jan decided they now belong on her feet … When Irish toes are tapping … at the Irish Rovers concert last week at Van Wezel, 10 of them belonged to Feng Shui expert and Asolo Rep board member Diana Armbrust, who owned up to being 100% Irish and the survivor of many years of Irish dancing instruction … Unconditional love … Joanna Pace-Brackett is the new chair of the Animal Rescue Coalition board. At the Feb. 15 “Unconditional Gala,” she and her husband, David, donated $300,000 to kick off construction of the hospital ARC plans to build … Are we getting cures as fast as we could? That is the provocative title of the third annual Women & Medicine Luncheon. It is a big issue: If you have been following the news, you know that the FDA just denied a drug to treat MS that has been approved by 30 other countries. Dr. James Schumacher, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System neurosurgeon and Parkinson’s researcher; Dr. Kirk Voelker, the system’s director of clinical research; and special guest Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, chairman of the Manhattan Institute’s Project FDA, will headline this interactive luncheon benefiting the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation Feb. 28. For more information, call 917-1286.

+ A Night at the Rainbow Room
Remember the Rainbow Room? You have the opportunity to relive it or experience it for the first time at the Asolo Rep’s 2014 annual gala on March 1. Co-Chairs Nikki Sedacca, Nikki Taylor, Carol Phillips and Chris Cogan are transforming the The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota ballroom into “A Night at the Rainbow Room” with help from Bay Stage Live out of Tampa. This will be the first Asolo gala in memory without a live auction, set aside in favor of a paddle raise, for which Carole Crosby and Larry Wickless have pledged to match the first $15,000 raised. And there will be a silent auction; online bidding is going on now at asolorep.org/annualgala. Sarasota loved Marissa McGowan as Magnolia in the Asolo production of “Show Boat,” and it was recently announced that she’s coming back to perform two songs at the gala — one from “Show Boat” and the other a surprise. For tickets or more information, call 351-9010, Ext. 4712.