Marc Collins and Harold Balink at Harold’s. -COURTESY PHOTO
August is an unusual time for the Southwest Florida social swirl to start sizzling as hot as the sun (which, incidentally, seems like it’s so close lately that we could reach up and touch it), but there it is — and I couldn’t be happier. Not that I don’t enjoy sofa-rotting and watching our 8 trillion streaming services on TV. By the by, loved “Widow’s Bay”, “The Boroughs” and my husband and I just started watching “Only Murders In The Building” — which is brilliant. But even I was starting to get bored. I don’t have two closets filled with cocktail dresses just so they can hang sad and lonely on hangers.
An Uncommon Dinner
So, I was thrilled to get an invite to a recent lovely wine dinner at Harold’s Restaurant as supporters gathered to enjoy a truly delicious meal with the perfect wine pairings. It was a gathering of uncommon friends to support the Uncommon Friends Foundation which raises funds to support the educations of local nontraditional students. When Uncommon Friends hosts these gatherings, guests get to hear from scholarship recipients — and this time it’s especially special, as there were two ladies who had won scholarships, and they’re mother and daughter! Amy Jocque and her daughter, Tiffany Jocque, spoke about the importance of education and how grateful they were for the helping hand from the Uncommon Friends Foundation. Both women were so sincere and willing to share — and guests were thrilled to hear their stories. As always, it was great to get a hug from the charming Chef Harold Balink and a lot of fun to share a table with Sandra Stilwell-Younquist, Dewey Sanders, Fran Fenning, Kim Perkins, Lisa and Rob Brosey, and Brett and Jillian Bisbe. There was also Alex Bremner, Deanne Kyle, Brenda Tate, Tom and Kerrey Hoolihan, Lisa Ballentine, and of course longtime Uncommon Friends executive director, Marc Collins who made the rounds to each table chatting us all up. I was so happy to get dressed up and go out — especially for such a fantastic cause.
Community Cooperative at Vybe
And then the very next night, Chef Harold stepped up for charity again! This time it was at his brand new venture, Vybe in the Bell Tower where Community Cooperative hosted a food and back-to-school drive for local families in need — plus, it was Vybe’s weekly Girl Dinner, so there were plenty of tables filled with ladies enjoying $29 3-course dinners as popular bartender Jay McCauley mixed up delicious craft cocktails behind the bar. It was good to see Fort Myers mayor, Kevin Anderson, Community Cooperative CEO Stephanie Ink with Pilates instructor Angela Pruitt. I enjoyed seeing Jennifer Lana Pruitt, and Katie Bohannon and Svetlana Sassi. Community Cooperative collected lots of needed donations as school gets ready to start — and if you donated, you got a free small plate to choose from. Everything was awesome and I loved catching up with so many lovely folks.
Looking into a crystal ball
Ever wonder what your future social life holds? You can always ask internationally famous psychic medium John Edward who will be performing and talking to souls on the other side on Sunday, Aug. 16 downtown at Caloosa Sound Convention Center. There’s a regular ticket package and a VIP one, too. Here’s hoping the upcoming social season holds lots of sparkle for all of us!
Stephanie Davis is a recovering girl-about-town formerly known as the Downtown Diva. A nearly native Southwest Floridian, when she’s not photographing events for Florida Weekly, she’s perfectly content to stay at home binging Netflix with husband, Todd, and four cats Tennessee, Lilibet, Jack, and Baby.