NONPROFITS AROUND TOWN: Manitou's "Taste of" a night of revelry

The Taste of Manitou has become a highly anticipated evening of savoring cuisine from Manitou’s chefs and marveling at clever tablescapes by Manitou artists and businesses.

But it’s more, and how. It’s a downright raucous celebration of the successes of the Manitou Springs Economic Council, a place for every candidate for Manitou public office to meet and greet and the perfect time for the women to splurge on colorful, daring formal attire.

The sixth annual “Taste of” Sept. 25 at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak lived up to all expectations, drawing a sold-out crowd of 120 and reluctantly turning some hopefuls away.

Cocktail hour — well, more than an hour — featured lots of talking and laughing and hors d’oeuvres from The Briarhurst Manor.

When host Paul York opened the doors to the dining room there was an opportunity to view the original tablescapes ranging from Safron’s ethereal blue, white and silver formal setting to Patsy’s gigantic hot dog centerpiece, Jack and Ellie Johns’  takeoff on the summer’s $1 wiener wars.

Other tablescapes were by sponsors Black Cat Books, Commonwheel Artist Cooperative, Coquette Creperie, Crying Out Loud, Garden of the Gods Trading Post, newcomer Girl of the Golden West, Mountain Living Studio, Noa’s Art Photography, Pikes Peak Chocolate, Pikes Peak Cog Railway, Retro Moto Toys, The Ten Spot and Twigs of Manitou.

Gourmet dinner courses were provided by The Craftwood Inn, The Cliff House and Adam’s Mountain Cafe, with dessert by Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant, Coquette Creperie and Stagecoach Inn, with coffee from Spice of Life.

Kitty Clemens, Director of the Manitou Economic Council, light-heartedly crowned event chairs Lori Finn and Sandy Jaray with tiaras, calling Finn “the goddess of everything” and Jaray “the goddess of everything else.”
They attempted to have a live auction, with Finn doing her best Vanna White imitation, but the conversations and hilarity mostly drowned them out.

After dinner York invited everyone to dance the night away in the new third floor pavilion.

Butterflies & Friends

The butterflies of summer landed on the grounds of Briarhurst Manor Sept. 19, awaiting their new homes.
Until then the creations by 31 local artists had been spotted in lawns and gardens and medians all around the area.

The annual Butterflies & Friends auction, a benefit for arts programs at Helen Hunt Elementary School and West Elementary and Middle School, was a project of the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs, whose community program will also be a recipient, and Imagination Celebration.

The 222 attendees, called “metamorphic butterflies” by Imagination Celebration’s Deborah Thornton, walked the grounds and patio, visiting with the artists and chatting with them about their butterfly creations.

This project to bring the arts back into the schools is an important one, said Thornton, as she introduced a video by student Brendan Lange.

Kevin Patterson and KKTV’s Jesse Kurtz took a team approach to auctioning the butterflies and succeeded in raising $48,000.

Many butterflies went to individuals and businesses but a group invested in Evette Goldstein’s “Cosmos Serenade” which will be donated to the city.

Artist Cass Mullane’s husband, Barry, bid highest for his wife’s fiber arts butterfly.

BMW dealer Phil and Ann Winslow became the owners of three butterflies, a nod to BMW’s worldwide marketing campaign featuring the soft, winged ones.

Artist Brigitte Reydams, who painted a “Great Adirondack Butterfly,” lost the shawl off her back when Thornton offered it up for bid. Reydams has designed sweaters for The Great Adirondack Yarn Co. and Pagewood Farms.

Another butterfly, “Blue Morpho,” by Mary Helsaple was the evening’s coveted raffle prize.

Chair of this year’s Butterflies & Friends was Maile Foster.