Diamonds and Denim: Gifts Galore in Silent, Live Auctions

We all have those folks on our holiday shopping lists who are impossible when it comes to figuring out a good gift. Let the Toledo Opera Guild help out with that.

This sparkling gem and stone necklace
embodies the Diamonds & Denim theme.

The silent and live auctions at Saturday's Diamonds and Denim fundraiser for the Toledo Opera are bursting with fabulous items, many locally produced and all donated by generous supporters.

Got a sister who couldn't live without a cup of caffeine in the morning? Bid on the Keurig single-cup coffee maker. Have a parent who likes to go out to eat? Snap up one of the several gift certificates to area restaurants. Is a friend getting married soon? Get a beautiful piece of glass art.

Do you need to really make up for the vacuum cleaner you gave your wife last year? You'd best bid high and bid often on the jewelry, the purses, the boots and the hats.

Several gift baskets in the silent auction are wrapped and ready to give to that someone special. They're stuffed with homemade goodies like fresh bread and candied nuts, jellies and jam, barbecue sauce and spice rubs, and popcorn and cookies.

This basket of homemade goods
includes a Thirty-One tote.

Speaking of cookies, one Christmas-themed basket comes with a promise to home-bake and deliver all of the delicious treats you'll need for your seasonal festivities.

Go ahead and treat yourself by bidding on a spa package or a tattoo. We won't tell.

Silent auction bidding will be open through 9 p.m., when auctioneer Richard Leonard will take over and elicit your support for Toledo Opera in the live auction portion of the evening.

Bid on a gorgeous lamb leather and mink fur coat from Roth Furs, donated by Phil Roth; the President's Suite for University of Toledo Athletics, thanks to guild member Shirley Jacobs; and the chance to have the opera's own Resident Artists perform at your function. These talented young people have been presenting "Orpheus and Eurydice" as part of the Opera on Wheels program in area schools.

Don't forget, the event boasts a superb wine sale as well. Pick a bottle from California, Oregon, Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Lebanon, Greece, Israel or Australia. Or one from everywhere!

Cash, check and credit card payments will be accepted. The proceeds raised directly benefit the Toledo Opera.

Diamonds and Denim: ShapeMyJeans After Party

Alicia Lawson, left, and Arlinda Williams work away in the midst of
their transition from this mall location to their new Holland shop.

Show us someone who found a pair of jeans that fit her body exactly right, and we'll show you someone who had them custom-made at ShapeMyJeans.

Mother-daughter shop owners Alicia Lawson and Arlinda Williams, with seamstress Paula Hudson, create specially fitted denim clothing such as jeans, trousers, skirts and even formal dresses.

Williams said they do not use patterns, pinning the material as they fit it right on the customer's body, putting the curves where they should be and the slim lines where they will flatter most.

All sizes, all shapes, all styles are available in more than 20 kinds of denim material.

Arlinda Williams sews a pair of denim jeans.

The company has gone through a period of evolution, culminating in the shop's move from Franklin Park Mall to its own home in Holland, Ohio, as House of ShapeMyJeans.

It will be here, at 1106 S. McCord Road, where Diamonds and Denim VIP guests and guild committee members will gather Nov. 13 for an After Party to our Nov. 8 fundraiser.

It's not too late to get your ticket for Diamonds and Denim. Guests who purchase a $200 2 Carat level ticket will be invited to the ShapeMyJeans After Party, as well as receive a ticket to Toledo Opera's Feb. 11 performance of "Susannah."

Diamonds and Denim: Ragazza Brings the Dazzle

Katie Maskey models a black sequined top with blue jeans at Ragazza.

Ragazza Boutique is celebrating the opening of its newest location in Sylvania, Ohio, with suggestions on how to put together an amazing outfit for the Toledo Opera Guild's Diamonds and Denim fundraiser on Nov. 8 at the Toledo Club.

The club is suspending its no-denim dress code rules for the event, but the guild is encouraging guests to still bring the bling!

Check out Ragazza's Facebook page for a video of locally born opera singer Elizabeth Baldwin hitting the high notes to announce the shop opening.

Fashion and opera go hand in hand. Make sure to get your tickets now to join the fun!

Diamonds and Denim: Uncorked

Swirl it, smell it, sip it. There's nothing like a fine wine in your glass, especially if you're sharing a bottle with fine friends.

Toledo Opera Guild members Barbara Baker and Diane Rusk, along with Marcy McMahon, have done an amazing job gathering more than 150 bottles of wine from all over the world to stock the Wine Cellar sale at the Diamonds and Denim event Nov. 8 at the Toledo Club downtown.

Dom Perignon dipped in
dark chocolate and decorated
with dried lemon peel.

Proceeds directly benefit the Toledo Opera, but winning bottle bidders will be rewarded with exquisite elixirs. Some bottles retail for a few hundred dollars. Notable offerings include:

• Rhone Valley Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve - Domaine du Pega
• Bordeaux - Pauillac - Chateau Pichon Lalande
• Burgundy - Nuits St. Georges, Les Boudots (Premiere Cru) - Domaine Jean Grivot

A full list of wines will be available after the "stellar cellar" committee has organized the bottles into lots. The sale will be conducted by silent auction.

Two bottles definitely will look different than the others, for they are dipped in chocolate! Bliss in a Bottle, of Columbus, creates these treats, and generous donations to the guild's event have purchased Dom Perignon in nut-studded chocolate and Le Grand Courtage Brut Rose in dried strawberry-flecked white chocolate.

When checking out these tables laden with wine, don't miss the framed linen map of France's wine and cheese production. That too will be available for sale.

The Diamonds and Denim wine cellar will be an amazing opportunity for you to add to your collection, give someone else a lovely holiday gift, and support the Toledo Opera.

While cash bars will be open for your wine needs during the party, the first 100 guests will be treated to a complimentary glass of champagne. This flute, however, will hold more than bubbles. Inside each glass will be a loose gem, one of which will be a real diamond from Jeffrey Mann Fine Jewelers! A jeweler will be at a table in the Centennial Room to examine your stone and discover whether you are the lucky winner.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary of business in the Toledo area this year, Jeffrey Mann has been a longtime supporter of the Toledo Opera Guild. Thank you!

Diamonds and Denim: Tattooed on Two Wheels

Paul Teutul Sr., left, and Paul Teutel Jr. of Orange County Choppers.

You too can look like this, if you just support the Toledo Opera.

Wait ... what?

That's right! The Toledo Opera Guild is mixing it up again with its fall fundraiser, which this year is Diamonds and Denim on Nov. 8 at the Toledo Club.

At the party, guests will be able to get free temporary tattoos from Toledo Tattoo Company artists. Your bicep could boast "I <3 Opera" or a giant diamond. Don't worry, it will wash off the next day with a little soap and water. Of course, your real love of opera will never fade!

Toledo Tattoo is a locally owned shop that has been in business for 35 years. If you want some permanent ink, stop by its consolidated Point Place location. Artists Bill Klocinski, Curtis Ely, Kodi Klocinski, Deano Davis and Justin Phillips promise to give you "just damn good tattoos."

If you want to imagine what it would be like to feel the wind in your hair on the open road, climb onto a custom Chopper motorcycle on a photo stage in the club's Centennial Room. A photographer from Grand Lubell Photography will print your portrait for a small fee.

The bike is the literal prized possession of Charlie Fehrenbach of Charlies' Automotive in Liberty Center. He and wife Rhonda won it at a NAPA convention in Las Vegas. The motorcycle was specially made by Orange County Choppers, a custom shop of reality television fame "American Choppers" and "Orange County Choppers," and bears the signatures of the designers.

The Fehrenbachs made a few modifications to the Chopper, including a seat for two. They've enjoyed 35,000 miles on it, although one can go only so far at a time. "It's a short trip bike," Rhonda Fehrenbach said.

Charlies' Automotive -- named for father and son of the same name -- has been servicing vehicles from cars and trucks to boats and buses since 1988. It is a certified NAPA Auto Care Center and Jasper preferred engine installer.

Charles Fehrenbach III has been working with his dad for 24 years and also is a master ASC-certified tech. Youngest son Gary started working in the shop on County Road A just this year. Mechanic Mike Lusher's specialty is front-end work, as well as steering and suspension. Rhonda Fehrenbach shares duties in the business office and in the garage.

Think an automotive mechanic garage is an odd place to find love of classic arts? Not so! Employee Sariah Shutts, who has been in the business office for eight years, is a dance instructor and also has worked for Toledo's former Fred Astaire dance studio, the Ballroom Company and the Toledo Ballet.

UT to Present Three Opera Selections at Tavern

Ever feel like you need a pint of beer while listening to opera? Here's your perfect chance.

The University of Toledo Opera Ensemble will present its fall program, "An American Triptych," this coming week and weekend at the Blarney Irish Pub in downtown Toledo.

The three selections include Henry Mollicone's "The Face on the Barroom Floor," Samuel Barber's "A Hand of Bridge," and Seymour Barab's "A Game of Chance."

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 and 24 and 4 p.m. Oct. 26. Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $10-$15 at the door. For tickets and information, call 419-530-2448 or visit www.utoledo.edu/BoxOffice.

Toledo Opera Honors Sanford with Dinner, 'Tosca' Performances

Conductor James Meena (standing, at left) expresses appreciation for
Ann Sanford's 20 years as a Toledo Opera trustee at a dinner Friday
in the Corinthian dining room at the Toledo Club.

Ann Sanford not only takes the cake, she also gives it.

At the post-performance reception Friday for "Tosca" cast and audience members, the off-stage star of the evening demonstrated the selflessness and charitable nature for which she had been lauded by cutting and serving the sheet cake frosted with a bouquet of roses herself.

The Toledo Opera staged the 2014 production of "Tosca" in Sanford's honor for her 20 years of board service and unwavering support of the organization.

Sanford shares
her appreciation.

Friends and opera fans also gathered earlier Friday evening at the Toledo Club, where notable folks shared their gratitude for Sanford and the caliber of production that the Toledo Opera is able to present to the community.

"So goes the Toledo Opera, so goes the nation's operas," stage director Michael Capasso said.

Toledo Opera executive director Suzanne Rorick noted that Sanford was personally responsible for introducing many people to opera, inviting them to performances and events. Rorick expressed deep appreciation for Sanford's straight-forward communication and commitment, as well as her friendship.

Sanford told the assembled guests that she was flattered by the attention but saw herself as one of many who worked together to promote the Toledo Opera. She said opera was a family, and that she had done only what one would do for brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, and children who would carry on the tradition.

Ann Sanford serves cake with the help of Karen DeNune in
the Red Room at the Toledo Club.

In her letter in the "Tosca" program, Sanford encouraged people to volunteer. "Join the chorus, the Opera Guild, or come to a fundraiser and you will soon be part of the Toledo Opera family," she wrote.

Conductor James Meena called Sanford a beacon for the successful journey of the Toledo Opera, which weathered a recent financial crisis in large part to her efforts. Meena said she was as willing to do the "little things" as well -- perhaps a foreshadowing of the humble cake cutting.