Art Night, Movie Stars, and Smoked Fish

Hey, this night is bigger than New Year's Eve for me, so you get a report. It was a packed house. The pics above would have been impossible to take on Friday night, so I went back on Saturday to get a few snaps. These shots don't begin to do the place justice. There are 2 floors, a few rooms, and the old bank vault full of jewelry.

We dressed up. This is a fun little city but if you dress to the nines, you're bound to be overdressed no matter where you go. On Artists Against Aids Night, anything goes. No one blinks an eye at stripey tights or evening gowns.

That's MovieStahhh Momo, bundled up in Mikey's jacket. Doesn't she look glamorous?

Hubba hubba, there's Mikey in a tie!

There's me. I prepared for this photo shoot by drinking 85 dixie cups of free red wine.

Them dogs are barkin! Mel takes a break after 6 hours in stiletto's.

Ilaiy couldn't be there on opening night, but he showed up Saturday.
I TOLD you Atef swings you around when he sees you! Here's photographic proof.

In attendance also were close friends Diane, Kaye, Kristy, and Dana. And a little hole in my heart, I miss one of my best friends, Becky. It was with her that I first dressed up and painted the town red at this show, so many years ago. She and hubby up and moved to Tucson without my permission. Missed ya girl!

The party aspect of it's all well and good, but of course we were there for a cause. We did leave with art in hand, the purchase of which was win-win for everyone: GCAP made some money, an artist made some money, and we brought home something beauty-ous.

My purchase this year was glass. A clown fish. A vase. I contemplated that glass fish for awhile. I made note of it, checked out the rest of the show and came back to it. I asked Melissa, "yes, but...does it look at all like a bong?" She laughed and assured me it did not.

The staff carefully packed my fish up for me in bubblewrap and stuffed it into a Van's shoebox. Show over, we went hopping on over to Cafe Kopi...

...sauntering past a cafe table where THE John Malkovich happened to be dining. And sauntering back again. And, ever the goober, maybe-just-once-more, how often do we see a celebrity in our space, for heaven's sake?

We headed home somewhere around 1:30, walking past a tableful of good ol' boys from Tennessee, that wanted to know why I was carrying a shoebox. Ever jovial, I was happy to open the box and show off my beautiful purchase:


Our new gentlemen friends were very supportive and enthusiastic:

WHOO HOO! YOU BOUGHT A BONG!!! they yelled, and proceeded to pass my fish around and pretend to smoke out of it.