FOR KIDS SAKE
Designer John Varvatos and his high-profile pals opened their hearts and their wallets to help kids at Stuart House. A section of swanky Melrose Avenue was shut down for an all-day VIP block party as JV hosted the fourth annual “Shop to Show Your Support” shindig.
It was a family affair with Brooke Shields, Angie Harmon, and Steve and Jamie Tisch all bringing their little love bugs in tow. Angie took a minute out to admire Brooke’s then-growing baby No. 2 bump before stepping up to a cozy makeshift stage to read fairy tales to an appreciative audience of pint-sized listeners.
Servers made the rounds with ahi tuna tartare for the adults as well as kid friendly fare like grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate gold leaf brownies.
Grown-ups bid on silent auction items like dinner at Mr. Chow and AOC while their little ones checked out some of the most imaginative balloon artists since the invention of elastic.
“I’m thrilled with the turnout,” said John as he turned to greet gorgeous Heather Thomas. “And did you see the balloons?”
The sea of balloons was hard to miss. They were blown, twisted and tied into green bug-eyed Martians complete with laser guns, monkeys perched in banana trees and swashbuckling silver swords. “Can you believe this?” asked Howard Stier as he marveled at his daughter’s oversized alien chapeau. “When I was a kid, all we got were crude-looking pink poodles.”
After an acoustic performance by Citizen Cope, party-goers slipped into JV’s Melrose boutique, snapping up Converse tennies, smart Italian knits and buttery soft suede jackets.
ET’s man-about-town Cojo arrived wearing a purple velvet blazer worthy of Austin Powers while Erik McCormack, David Schwimmer, Jim Belushi and Peter Morton posed for pics.
But there was more money to be made for Stuart House, which serves the victims of child abuse and their families. Steve and Heather helped out with the auction duties. They got up to 20k for trips to Las Vegas and NYC, but the hottest ticket turned out to be a ride in the LAPD chopper. And Heather was determined to see this item take off.
“Ride in the sky, stop the bad guys,” she urged. “Check out your neighbors’ backyard.” In the end no one wanted to outbid the Tisch kids, who were quick to raise their hands.
When it was over, the event raised more than $235,000 for Stuart House programs.
Chris Cornell played one last crowd pleasing set before a sea of kids and colorful balloons went sailing down the street, headed for home and ready for next year.