John Varvatos, Shepard Fairey, Billy Idol, Mick Rock, Glenn Hughes
Patrick Dempsey Hosts
John Varvatos' Celebration
of 8th Annual Stuart House Benefit
John Varvatos celebrated the 8th Annual Stuart House Benefit at his Los Angeles boutique. The event, hosted by Jillian and Patrick Dempsey, closed down the streets of Melrose and Robertson in the heart of West Hollywood to raise over $500,000 for Stuart House. Over 1,500 guests were treated to an afternoon of great food, luxury shopping, live and silent auctions and fun filled children’s activities. The event’s emcee, Bill Bellamy, hosted the live auction and introduced the special rock n’ roll performance featuring k.d. lang & the Siss Boom Bang, with opening act Franky Perez.
The event and its host committee members, which included entertainment industry heavyweights, Richard Weitz, Michael & Shannon Rotenberg and Linda & Bob Gersh, brought an eclectic ensemble of actors and musicians, including Alberta Cross, Brooke Burke, Damien Fahey, Dan Cortese, Daniel Sunjata, David Schwimmer, Donovan Leitch, Eva LaRue, Glenn Hughes, GW Bailey, James Pickens Jr., James Van Der Beek, Jayma Mays, Jesse Williams, JK Simmons, Julie Benz, Justin Chambers, KaDee Strickland, Kevin McKidd, Kropp Circle, LL COOL J, Melina Kanakaredes, Michael Moloney, Michael Paul Chan, Omar Epps, Omar Sharif Jr., Phillip Keene, Ryan Eggold, Sam Page, Taylor Armstrong, Trevor Donovan and Zoe Saldana. Billy Idol showed up last minute to join the party and hang out with his buddies Perry Farrell, Mick Rock, and John Varvatos.
The benefit hit full stride as Gail Abarbanel, the Founder and Director of Stuart House, and John Varvatos took the stage to welcome guests, share the charity’s accomplishments and introduce event chairs Jillian and Patrick Dempsey. While on stage, Patrick addressing the audience said, “The work that Stuart House does is remarkable. Your presence today helps make the amazing free treatment that Stuart House provides possible.”
Bill Bellamy commenced the live auction by saying, “Today we are going to raise money for an amazing cause that is making a difference for kids.” The live auction featured a dozen HD camcorders donated by FLIP. The FLIP cams were auctioned off to guests, dubbed “Stuart House Angels,” who used them to film the event’s activities. 100% of all live and silent auction proceeds directly benefited Stuart House.
After a full comedic review during the live auction, where Bill Bellamy attempted to jokingly auction off the Greys Anatomy cast, he then introduced the afternoon’s opening act, Franky Perez, who quickly got the crowd rockin’ with his intense, edgy and energetically unique performance.
Franky Perez, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and awe-inspiring performer is also an honorary member of the All Star Supergroup, Camp Freddy. His past performances have included Billy Gibbons, Slash, Steve Vai, Courtney Love, Steve Stevens, Chrissie Hynde and Robin Zander. He’s also performed with Velvet Revolver, Metallica and been on the mic backed by great stars like Ronnie Wood, Jason Bonham and Ringo Starr.
The main performance by, k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang was legendary. The band played songs from the new album Sing it Loud, which is being released in North America on April 12th, 2011. For their encore k.d. lang performed the crowd favorite, Constant Craving and the whole audience sang along.
In 2010, k.d. lang marked the 25th anniversary of her recording debut with Recollection, a career retrospective. To date, lang has been honored with four GRAMMY awards, eight Juno awards, a BRIT, an AMA, a VMA, and four awards from GLAAD. In 1996, she received Canada’s highest civilian honor, the Order of Canada. Sing it Loud is k.d. lang’s first studio album since 2008’s Watershed, and the first record made entirely with a band of her own in over 20 years.
k.d. lang expressed her sincere thoughts on the event by saying, “When one is dedicated to the service of others there is no better thing on earth, and no better climate than this. I think what John is doing is amazing!”
John Varvatos stated, “It is wonderful to see this kind of turnout and be able to raise money and awareness for such a worthy cause. Franky Perez got the crowd on their feet and k.d. lang was simply electric!”
Legendary rock n’ roll photographer, Mick Rock—who has photographed the likes of Iggy Pop, David Bowie and Queen—donated his time and amazing talent for the event by offering personal family portraits with all proceeds donated to Stuart House. Shepard Fairey, who was the in-store deejay for the afternoon, made sure to take a turn in front of Mick Rock’s lens.
Mick Rock said, “The event was sublime! I saw a lot of old friends and thought it was amazing to have so much fun while serving a cause that John supports.”
Attending guests of all ages mingled and savored the delicious hors d’oeuvres provided by Firenze Osteria, Magnolia Bakery, Diddy Reise, Cuties and Jackie’s Bakery, along with the trendy food trucks In-N-Out Burger, Hot Dog On A Stick and Green Truck. Cocktails and beverages were served courtesy of Patron Tequila, Ultimat Vodka, Cielo Malibu Wineyards, Stella Artois Beer, Icelandic H2O Glacial Water, POM Wonderful Juices and Rockstar Energy Drink.
A huge hit in the kid’s tent Justin Incredible, who performed magic tricks for their entertainment, and Buster Balloon whose balloon sculptures of sharks, monkeys, and dinosaurs fascinated adults and children alike. Converse graciously supplied Children’s Chuck Taylor Hi-Tops available for personal customizing and decorating. Build-A-Bear Workshop generously donated their Champ and Endless Hugs bears to personalize. For every bear purchased and created, a second was donated for a child of Stuart House. Brooke Burke talked with friends in the kid’s tent while her kids were decorating cookies. Taylor Armstrong took pictures of her daughter with Justin Kredible.
Gail stated, “Today brought tremendous support and awareness to the issue of sexual child abuse, and was an extraordinary expression of our community’s support for the care and treatment of these children.”
Stuart House Stuart House is a nationally recognized, model program of the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, serving the special needs of sexually abused children. Stuart House brings together police, prosecutors and child protection personnel in a child-friendly facility to enhance the treatment of child victims. Stuart House also provides expert medical/forensic examinations and comprehensive therapy, advocacy and other support services to help children heal from the traumatic effects of sexual abuse. Sponsors
Toyota, Lynda.com, Onestop, Macy’s, Inc.
Patrons
Converse, Flip, GQ, Base Curve, Build-A-Bear Workshop, WME and McIntosh
Host Committee
Keri Selig & Keith Addis, Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck, Lisa & Nez Balelo, Chase & Brad Beckerman, Jenny & Jim Belushi, Colleen & Bradley Bell, David Boreanaz, Heather Thomas Brittenham & Skip Brittenham, Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, Keisha & Justin Chambers, Chris Day, Etty & Perry Farrell, Thom Filicia, Brendan Fraser, Gary Gersh, Linda & Bob Gersh, Gina Gershon, Pink & Carey Hart, Mayor John J. Heilman, Pete Hunsinger, Melina Kanakaredes, Helen & Greg Kinnear, Harley Neuman & Daniel Lam, Bernadette & Tim Leiweke, LL COOL J, Michael Lombardo, Jayma Mays, Gary Mantoosh, Janet & Eric McCormack, Rachael Ray, Amy Chu & Michael M. Robin, Elisabeth Rohm, Jon Rosen, Kathleen & Chip Rosenbloom, Shannon & Michael Rotenberg, David Schwimmer, Ace Harper & Matt Sorum, Darren Star, KaDee Strickland, Carl Stubner, Chandra West & Mark Tinker, Joyce Varvatos, Richard Weitz, Elicia & Timothy White, Lauren & Patrick Whitesell, Gregory Pappas & Brandon Wilson, Margo & Irwin Winkler and Jennifer & Anthony E. Zuiker
John Varvatos Launched in 2000 with a collection of tailored clothing and sportswear, John Varvatos now represents an entire men’s lifestyle that includes footwear, bags, belts, eyewear, limited edition watches, men’s fragrances, as well as the younger, edgier John Varvatos « USA Collection and Converse by John Varvatos. The designer has been recognized three times by the CFDA with an American Fashion Award for New Menswear Designer (June 2000) and Menswear Designer of the Year (June 2001 and June 2005) and was honored as GQ’s “Designer of the Year” in 2007. The collection is distributed in freestanding John Varvatos boutiques across the US and online, as well as in better specialty stores throughout the world. www.johnvarvatos.com or Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnvarvatos
