Dessert Before Dinner benefits local Girl Scouts

Dessert Before Dinner, an annual fundraising event benefiting the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada, took place Sept. 26 at Caesars Palace's Augustus Ballroom. The sold-out event attracted 652 guests.

The fundraiser brought together area chefs to create the ultimate confection incorporating one chosen signature Girl Scout cookie, which this year was Lemonades.

During the reception, guests including Jane and Bill Curran, Beth and Bill Weinberger, Patrick Duffy, Mari and Thom Landers, Shelley Berkley and Punam Mathur pursued the high-end silent auction while sampling the fancy desserts.

Participating in the competition were chefs from Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Chocolate & Spice, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Hard Rock Hotel, Kailava, MGM Grand, The Mirage, Paris Las Vegas and the Stratosphere.

At registration, guests received a poker chip used to vote for their favorite dessert, with the winner announced during dinner.

Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner welcomed the crowd, and Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada CEO Liz Ortenburger and the board's president Robyn Ratcliffe Manzini spoke of the organization's pre-eminent leadership development for girls of all ages serving more than 8,000 youth and adult members throughout Southern Nevada.

A Girl Scout video was followed by the event's keynote address delivered by former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones Blackhurst, who spoke about the underlying power of women.

All of the participating chefs were introduced onstage, and the winning property was Caesars Palace, with the Stratosphere placing second and Bellagio third.

Another highlight of the event was the honoring of seven outstanding women leaders who have made a significant difference in our commujnity. Honorees were Elizabeth Blau, Robin Greenspun, Dawn Mack, Rose McKinney-James, Anita Romero, Marilyn Winn Spiegel and Heidi Straus.

Robin Leach conducted the live auction for seven prize packages. First was dinner at Guy Savoy's original Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris; it sold twice for $1,500. Chefs Elizabeth Blau and Kim Canteenwalla offered a Westside Dine Around dinner and limousine for six guests with each course served at one of their restaurants; it sold for $2,000. An in-your-home dinner for 12 guests prepared by chef Eric Klein of Spago sold three times for $6,000 each. Four tickets for Celine Dion, a meet-and-greet and dinner at Mesa Grill went for $2,000. An all-inclusive two-night stay for two in wine country went for a bid of $4,000. A darling puppy from the Animal Foundation found a wonderful home for $2,000. A Fred Leighton diamond necklace went for a bid of $45,000.

The gala was hosted by Karen Cashman, Barbara Molasky, Joyce Sherman Nelson and Peggy Selesner. Among the guests were Lovee Arum, Carrie Carter Cooper and Phil Cooper, Mike Sloan, Dana Blackhurst, Parvin Jacobs, Dana Lee, Charlotte Hill, Natasha and Vadim Friedman, Whitney and Larry duBouf, Sandy Peltyn, Kate Zhong and Jeffrey Cummings, Denise Cashman, Sean McBurney, Jeri Crawford, Debbie Levy, Camille Ruvo, Joyce Cebulko, Danylle Hitcher and Heather Murray. Entertainment by Matt Goss concluded the evening.

Decorating from top to bottom

The Las Vegas Design Center hosted an event in partnership with the Interior Design Society and the Las Vegas Philharmonic featuring celebrity designer Thom Filicia in the atrium of Building A at the World Market. The evening began with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and a silent auction benefiting the Interior Design Society and the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

The showrooms of hosts Vanguard Furniture and Safavieh were open as was Eastern Accents and Kravet for the browsing guests. The evening featured a conversational presentation, "Decorating From Top to Bottom With Thom Filicia," facilitated by Andrea Bennett, editor-in-chief of Vegas magazine. Filicia has earned countless accolades, including being named one of the "Top 100 Designers" by House Beautiful and House & Garden. His clients include Jennifer Lopez, Tina Fey, Delta Airlines, and W Hotels, to name a few. Filicia charmed the crowd with his ideas for creating stunning modern yet classic interiors.

The evening closed with desserts and Champagne for guests Jeri Crawford, Beth and Bruce Pope, Susan Houston, Terri Eden, Sue Rowland, Stephen Leon, Dorothy Cowan, Juliana and Matthew McRae, Jackie Foster, Marsha Tenison, Julie Porter, Jennette and Errol Tate, Simone Jackson, Cheryl Purdue, and Cy and Becky Najafi, president of the Las Vegas Design Society.