THE CROWD:Holiday bashes abound along the coast

The Orange County Chapter of Childhelp USA celebrated Christmas “Through the Eyes of a Child.” The annual holiday boutique and luncheon took place at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Hotel, attracting a major contingent of Newport-Mesa devotees.

This international child welfare organization was founded in 1959 by Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson. The most recent event began with a morning boutique sale that filled the ballroom with holiday shoppers.

A luncheon program followed, with inspirational words to fill the season with meaning. The Childhelp motto — “For the Love of a Child” rang through the crowd.

The Village Crean welcomed the Hutchins Consort for an afternoon of holiday Italian merriment. “Funiculi Funicula” was the call to celebrate as artistic director Joe McNalley introduced his ensemble of acoustically matched violins created by the renowned Carleen Hutchins.

Her musical octets grace the Metropolitan Music Museum in New York, in addition to museums in Stockholm and Edinburgh, Scotland. Hutchins is also the recipient of the Honorary Fellowship of the Acoustical Society of America, an honor bestowed only 17 times since it was first introduced in 1929 and awarded to Thomas Alva Edison.

The Sunday afternoon soiree at Village Crean began with a reception and auction, followed by a sunset concert with the Italian holiday theme. Dinner followed in the Crean mansion.

The lovely Bobbitt Williams of Newport Coast chaired the event, assisted by an equally charming Susan Beechner. Williams and Beechner were supported by a most distinguished committee, including Patricia Beckman, Ruth Ann Burns, Margaret Gates, Jenny Gerard, Gail Hutton, Julie Jenkins, Jan Landstrom and Sharon McNalley.

Also supporting the Hutchins Consort were Marjorie Ringwalt, Kathy Sangster, Denny Scholz, Kathryn Smith, Mary Kay Vander Molen, Alma Vanasse and Barbara Woods.

The annual holiday open house, hosted by the distinguished Newport couple Pat and Carl Neisser, attracts a who’s-who crowd of locals converging on the Back Bay Neisser mid-century modern residence.

Hundreds of long-time friends and community activists raise a glass to making a difference in this community. Spotted in the crowd this past week was a triad of feminine power. Three former county supervisors — Harriett Wieder, Marion Bergeson and Cynthia Coad — shared a corner in the Neisser living room comparing notes.