Monday Apr 28

'M on Green' season's hot fashion scene

By Janet Duca Norton / Society Columnist

Mother nature, good times on the green and eco-friendly lifestyles were glamorously portrayed at the Menlo School "M on the Green" annual benefit. The April 18 luncheon, fashion show, dinner and auction extravaganza was a sold-out success, attracting more than 800 guests for lunch and dinner at the Menlo School campus. The 58th Menlo School Association production showcased a beautiful green garden theme with earth-friendly touches, celebrated the senior class and raised funds for the Menlo Opportunity Fund, which provides financial aid to qualified students.

Between posing for photos and greeting guests, event co-chairwomen Mikey Hoag and Marie Lehman said their goal was to showcase the senior class and bring the Menlo community together at the "friend-raiser." Hoag emphasized, "It's all about the kids."

Not only were the seniors featured in the fashion show, they were saluted in the entry tent with a color portrait photo gallery, a walkway fashioned from steppingstones imprinted with the seniors' shoe prints and personal items, and a colorful video portraying the seniors' pursuits. Video producer Kat Westerman traced the four-year journey of the class from green freshmen to seniors ready to explore the greener pastures of college. Elsa Stephens, president of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, arranged for her students to create the portraits and unique steppingstones.

Decorations chairwomen Julia Carver and Debbie Umphreys designed the gorgeous garden motif and had the good luck to find a garden godfather, Menlo parent and owner of Polyscapes Jim Ledman, who donated fountains and created the gardens, as well as godmother Judy Siebert of Emily Joubert in Woodside, who designed the sophisticated green centerpieces.

This was the 12th year for the event's partnership with Bloomingdale's at Stanford. Led by director Jeffrey Adair of J. Floral Art, choreographer Jan Chandler, producer Alex Perez and assistant producer BB Bernheim, the production received a standing ovation. Bloomingdale's stylists and public relations stars Lynette Leong and Nancy Lueck showcased spring fashions for all occasions modeled by seniors, parents and faculty.

In the final evening gown sequence, a custom-designed one-of-a-kind Bloomingdale's gown - fashioned from 30 Bloomingdale's Brown Bags of all sizes - was the couture hit of the show. The creation was a collaboration between Adair, who designed the dress and spent three days cutting, stapling and gluing it together, and a Bloomingdale's seamstress, who made the bodice. The dress will be on display at the Stanford store.

Applauding the show were Jan and Peter Harris, Lisa and Dave Mooring, Susan and Philip Coyne, Elsa and C.N. Reddy, Maureen and James Sansbury, Tracey and Brian Avery, Melissa and Jim Badger, Lulu and Larry Frye, Sue and Ken Goldman, Lori and Mike Corley, Lori and Steve Bouret, Julie and Bill Hooper, Debbie and Bobby Robbins, Lorelei and Jon Greenfield, Sally Howard and Sue Foley, Menlo School Association president.
Part of the fun was the drawing for the raffle grand prize, a Honda Hybrid, donated by Anderson Honda. Menlo Middle School parent Nancy Blake was thrilled when her name was called.

Celebrity auctioneer KCBS news anchor Stan Bunger generated a lot of excitement. He sold several big-ticket items twice, including a dinner prepared by Head of School Norm Colb and his wife Susan for $16,000 each, and a 10-day river trip in Patagonia for $26,000 each.

The big surprise of the evening was former NFL quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young's impromptu appearance at the auction, where he unveiled an opportunity for two people to sit in the announcer's booth and watch him do a live commentary at an ESPN Monday Night Football game. The auction item sold twice, netting $84,000.

Kermit the frog famously sang "It's Not Easy Being Green," but "M on the Green" proved him wrong. As the song says, green, "it's beautiful."


Janet Duca Norton's society column appears every Sunday in the Daily News. Send event information to 255 Constitution Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025 or e-mail society@paloaltodailynews.com.