Reservations For 1,200? Park Avenue Dinner Party Features Food,
Fun And Fantasy
By Linda Sherdel
June 2009

Parisian artists mingled with Dalmatians; gangsters and flappers socialized with Ghost Busters …where else, but at the city of Winter Park’s 8th annual Dinner on the Avenue. The event was a roaring success, attracting 1,200 diners who brought with them their creativity … all displayed by their individual cuisine, decor and costumes. The city provided tables, chairs and the ambience of Park Avenue while the guests used their imaginations to create memorable themes. From Morse Boulevard to New England Avenue, 120 tables filled the street … some tables were elegant and formal while others displayed an artistic touch.  Several were playful and silly.

“I had no idea what to expect. This is so cool,” said Bill Archer of his first Dinner on the Avenue. Archer’s wife, Jeanne, Tammi Nesvik and Raleigh and Te Whitehurst dressed, cooked and decorated in an Asian theme, complete with homemade egg rolls, red lanterns and napkins folded in the shape of birds of paradise. A few tables away, diners from Smithmark Consulting mimicked a famous scene from the movie Risky Business … winning one of two awards given for Best TV/Movie Theme. The men were dressed in sunglasses, pink dress shirts and white socks. Wayne and Leslie Becker, Steve and Shaina Markulin, Lourdes and Gerald O’Connor and Pam and Flavio Tagliaferro attended. “What’s under our shirt is not what is under a Scottish kilt,” kidded Tagliaferro. Seen floating among the sea of diners was a group playing tribute to another 1980s movie favorite …several white-jumpsuit-clad Ghost Busters, from the city of Winter Park Streets Division, took the opportunity to acknowledge the film’s 25th anniversary and received an Honorable Mention for their efforts.     

Centerpieces were judged and awarded prizes in various categories, while the David MacKenzie Trio, featuring Don Johnson and Anthony Dixon, contributed to the evening’s eclectic style. The band was courtesy of Winter Park Magazine, whose theme for the evening celebrated the Roaring ’20s, with staff members dressing the part.

Ramona Manning, correspondence secretary for the Winter Park Historical Association, attended the event and was pleased her group won two awards for its garden-themed centerpieces. One creation that featured peacock feathers won one of the Most Elegant awards; a setting of topiaries surrounded by garden accessories captured one of the Most Colorful awards.         

The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens provided a mime to highlight its  theme of  plein air artists. The theme was “set by the museum to express the Paint Out,” explained Mary Demetree of the five-day event in April and May. The Polasek Museum won one of the awards for Most Original, capturing the feeling of the en plein air art movement with French berets and centerpieces of easels, garden flowers and plein air works by local artists. Also attending … Mark Terry, vice president of the board of trustees and wife Jane. As I passed by I barely recognized two guests dining at the Polasek table … “I am incognito tonight,” joked Mayor Ken Bradley, who was wearing a black beret. Joining the mayor was his wife, Ruth.   

Taking a very sophisticated approach was Tom Sims of Buckhead Building Co. in Winter Park and his wife, Liz. “We brought out the good china. It was passed down from both sides of our family,” she said. Gold chargers, sterling silver goblets and a centerpiece of lilies, artichokes and grapes made by florist Lee James completed their table. “We told him [James] we wanted green because we do a lot of green building, and he incorporated that into the elegance,” said Tom. Just a few tables away, the atmosphere shifted to comical with several dogs running about … Fleet Peeples Park supporters, in costume with ears and tails, took their inspiration from the movie 101 Dalmatians. Meredith Tracy dressed as the infamous Cruella De Vil. Their dinner, featuring hot dogs, corn dogs and gourmet potato salad, was served in dog bowls. “We washed them,” Tracy noted.

Other memorable themes included … Mr. and Mrs. John Eckbert’s Miami Vice theme with its centerpiece of “illegal substances,” winning the second award given for Best TV/Movie Theme; a biker theme complete with leather attire; and a pirate theme by Redmon Design, winning an Honorable Mention. A second Most Original award went to Francine Haynes for her colorful tropical theme featuring a towering floral centerpiece, and Mary Lane’s decorations in shades of pink and green received the second award for Most Colorful. All tables were entered into a drawing for a complimentary table for the 2010 Dinner on the Avenue … the winner was Denise Griffith.    

The night was cool with just a slight breeze as guests walked from table to table mingling and admiring the creative efforts of their fellow diners. Others attending … Beverly Marshall Luney, Nancy Schwalb, Bob Banas and Debbie Komanski. Lonnie Myers and daughter Heather created an elaborate tablescape with a Las Vegas gambling theme; Esmeralda Lopez won a Most Elegant award for her table’s centerpiece depicting an “elegant Latin tropical night – with a lot of class,” explained Chiqui Lopez. To add a bit more drama to the evening, a group of supporters and actors from the Annie Russell Theatre attended, including theater guild member Marilyn Butler. “We did a representation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the actors came in costume and passed out brochures for next year’s schedule,” she said.

As the evening wound down, diners packed up their centerpieces and dinnerware. While some lingered to chat, others continued their evening by visiting one of Park Avenue’s restaurants. What many consider to be Winter Park’s “social event of the year” came to a close, and one thing was evident … the city of Winter Park certainly knows how to throw a dinner party!