In Defense of Animals special events director Eilene Cohnn and the organizers of a Hollywood fund-raiser for the upstart disaster-relief fund, inspired by the plight of animals left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, had a budget challenge on their hands. But working with producer Joey Galon of Scentiments Events and A One Rentals, which donated a big chunk of its usual fee, they pulled together a lively (if a bit spare) benefit. “There wasn’t much design,” Galon says. “There was no money for it. It was really about the coordination of the sponsorships.”The group’s benefit concert, hosted by Paula Abdul, may have been light on design beyond the piles of plastic cubes illuminated from within with color-changing lights, but it was heavy on people power. Platoons of animal-loving sponsors and celebrity volunteers turned out to perform during the three-hour concert (dominated by 70’s artists) and to operate 24 vegan food stations and four organic beauty booths in the rotunda and garden outside the Paramount theater.
For the V.I.P. reception preceding the concert, Galon imported French vegan chef Marc Felix to collaborate with Whole Foods on a buffet of red bliss potatoes with couscous caviar, tikka masala tofu, and dried fruits and nuts. Food vendors also included Purely Decadent Dairy Free Ice Cream, the Vegan Joint, Le Bon Café of Santa Barbara, and another far-flung chef, Steve Plante, of the Anchorage, Alaska-based Organic Oasis Restaurant & Juice Bar, who brought his savory signature dish, sprouted almond miso pate, which is colored and shaped like a salmon.
During the concert, artists such as Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers brought the audience of 500 to its feet while artist Rolando Diaz created a painting of a lion at the side of the stage as part of the silent auction. But when a musician spontaneously announced an intermission that hadn’t been scheduled, 90 minutes into the show, half the 500-seat house left for snacks and never came back despite announcements that the concert had resumed.
Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night and Howard Scott of War soldiered on before a light crowd, which had clustered in front of the stage by the concert’s end. Around 11:30 PM, a band moved outside to play dance music, and guests boogied on a tented dance floor in the garden until 2 AM. Revelers left with a gift bag of animal-friendly treats which included a Lamb Chop purse, Larabar Jocalat organic chocolate, a Baby Phat candle, and John Paul Mitchell Pet Cleanse oatmeal shampoo.
—Irene Lacher
Posted 02.21.07
For the V.I.P. reception preceding the concert, Galon imported French vegan chef Marc Felix to collaborate with Whole Foods on a buffet of red bliss potatoes with couscous caviar, tikka masala tofu, and dried fruits and nuts. Food vendors also included Purely Decadent Dairy Free Ice Cream, the Vegan Joint, Le Bon Café of Santa Barbara, and another far-flung chef, Steve Plante, of the Anchorage, Alaska-based Organic Oasis Restaurant & Juice Bar, who brought his savory signature dish, sprouted almond miso pate, which is colored and shaped like a salmon.
During the concert, artists such as Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers brought the audience of 500 to its feet while artist Rolando Diaz created a painting of a lion at the side of the stage as part of the silent auction. But when a musician spontaneously announced an intermission that hadn’t been scheduled, 90 minutes into the show, half the 500-seat house left for snacks and never came back despite announcements that the concert had resumed.
Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night and Howard Scott of War soldiered on before a light crowd, which had clustered in front of the stage by the concert’s end. Around 11:30 PM, a band moved outside to play dance music, and guests boogied on a tented dance floor in the garden until 2 AM. Revelers left with a gift bag of animal-friendly treats which included a Lamb Chop purse, Larabar Jocalat organic chocolate, a Baby Phat candle, and John Paul Mitchell Pet Cleanse oatmeal shampoo.
—Irene Lacher
Posted 02.21.07
At In Defense of Animals’ benefit concert at Paramount, guests grazed at vegan buffets.
Spirited guests boogied to the music—although many never returned after an intermission.
French vegan chef Marc Felix collaborated with Whole Foods on a buffet.
The nonprofit’s budget limited design.
