Coming up with entertainment varied enough to please children of all ages is tricky, but Mark Poncher of Five Currents figured he was on the right track when he saw guests at both ends of the age spectrum occupied at a recent event: Dozens of kids sat quietly through an hour of speeches, and grown-ups took their turn in the bounce house. The occasion was the fourth annual First Star Celebration for Children’s Rights at Barker Hangar on June 2. This year’s theme was “Come Be a Kid Again,” a command a lot of adults apparently took seriously.
A dinner of beef, chicken, and plenty of vegetables prepared by chefs Jerome Brown and Ora E. was served at the child-friendly hour of 5 p.m., as First Star honored Rick Sands, C.O.O. of MGM Studios, and Butch Hartman, creator of Nickelodeon’s Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom. To cut costs, event coordinator Judy Levy suggested the charity share its banquet-hall decor with Heal the Bay, another client of Levy’s, which had held a fund-raiser a few days earlier. Guests left with multigenerational gifts that included a Bioque anti-aging serum and a Good Boy DVD.
