Sarah Todd reports from Great Barrington. Though comedian Paula Poundstone ribbed the crowd at the 2012 Fairview Hospital Gala about indulging in luxuries like “eating gold on heated sidewalks,” no edible metals were on offer at Saturday’s hospital fundraiser. There was, however, plenty of first-rate fare at the dinner on Bandstand Green that preceded Poundstone’s routine. Fairview donors enjoyed Marketplace Catering’s delicate mushroom-filled pasta, caprese kebobs, cheese gougères, and chocolate truffle lollipops before migrating to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. Dr. Adrian Elliot, an emergency room doctor at Fairview (above, with Dr. Ailsa Colbert, a Greenfield optometrist) joined other Fairview supporters onstage to speak movingly about the hospital's impact on their lives and loved ones. They were followed by State Representative William "Smitty" Pignatelli and Bruce Singer, who led a fundraising auction while warming up the crowd. Pignatelli, nursing a fake injury with his arm in a sling, handed over a check and joked, “Don’t cash it in until after the election.” Next up was Poundstone, a regular on NPR quiz show Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me, who cracked wise about Berkshires residents’ penchants for pastimes like parades and apple squeezes. Donations from the event went toward buying two new digital ultrasound machines for Fairview’s radiology department, which will help the hospital maintain its reputation for top-notch medical care.
Jed Scala and Paula Wardynski; gala committee member and antiques dealer Elise Abrams with Ronnie Cohen.
Committee members Janet Cookson, Carrie Herrington, and Trinity Raifstranger with Sherie Ross; Steve Mack with gala committee member Elaine Mack, head personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman.
Allyce Najimy, State Representative Smitty Pignatelli, mineral cosmetics entrepreneur Jane Iredale, and her husband Bob Montgomery, Iredale Mineral Cosmetics' vice president and chief financial officer.
Richard Drucker, Hilary Drucker, Katherine McGinnis, and Adam Carlatto; artist Dai Ban and Seeds proprietor Robin Ban.
Charlie Rockwell, Peggy Rockwell, Kevin Cahill, and Debbie Cahill, whose suspenders were a tribute to Paula Poundstone; Michael Bullock, vice president of Student Affairs at Berkshire Community College, with Nancy Bullock.
James Akers, Gundula Brattke, and Stephanie Iverson; salon owner Michele Wilkinson and Anne Dargie.
Bill Ryan, Deborah Ryan, realtor Nikki Carchedi, and real estate agent Barbara Schulman.
Miniature apple cobblers from Marketplace Catering; Fairview staff and supporters took the stage to explain how the hospital changed their lives for the better.
Written by
Matteline deVries-Dilling, founder of Lite Brite Neon, one of the evening's honoree of this year's Upstate Benefit adresses the gala from the Caboose's caboose.
- Karen Pearson. Courtesy Art Omi.
Olana senior vice president and landscape curatorMark Prezorski, president Sean Sawyer, The evenings honoree Kristin Gamble and New York State Assemblymember Didi Barrett.
- Oxygen House Photo
