THE CROWD:

Darrel and Marsha Anderson arrel and Marsha Anderson opened their Newport residence to members of the board of directors of Olive Crest Homes and Services for Abused Children for a kickoff party in advance of a March 28 wine fest, which is being chaired by Debbie Farreé. They’re calling the return of the popular wine festival event Harvesting Hope for Olive Crest Kids. The big event will be at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach and will feature an exceptional wine auction.

Darrel and Marsha greeted Olive Crest Chief Executive Donald Verleur along with honorary chairs of the upcoming event Cindi and Norm Morales.

Also front and center at the Anderson reception were Dayna DeVito-Fleck, Alan and Teri Hoops, David and Marcy McKenna, Terri Sjodin, Chris Wing, Mike and Lynda Hearn, Lorraine Bader and Steve Bernardy.

For more information on the upcoming wine event, with tickets priced at $175 per person, please contact 1-800-550-2445 or go to www.olivecrest.org.

The Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach will be the setting for the premiere Orange County “Dining in the Dark” event March 20.

Sponsored by the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the dinner will be held in complete darkness offering a unique awareness experience that participants in other cities have called “an unforgettable dining adventure.”

The evening in the dark will honor Rebecca Kammer from the Southern California College of Optometry and Ronald Kurtz, associate clinical professor and medical doctor from UCI, and David Pyott, chairman and chief executive of Allergan Inc.

These three accomplished guests will be introduced at a pre-dining cocktail reception (with the lights on) before guests are ushered into the “Dining in the Dark” experience. Proceeds from the benefit are earmarked for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a national nonprofit organization and the largest source of non-governmental funding for retinal degenerative disease research.

Share Our Selves will present the 16th annual Wild and Crazy Taco Night on April 20 at the Costa Mesa facility on Superior Avenue.

The event will feature a lineup of Orange County’s most outstanding chefs preparing exotic tacos for some 700 expected guests.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the SOS Orange Aid Project, which collects and distributes food from a variety of Orange County sources, providing sustenance for low income citizens in the community.

SOS presently provides needy people with more than 200 bags of groceries each and every day with approximately 60% of the food coming from the Orange Aid collection. Tickets to Wild and Crazy Taco Night are at $60.

There is also a VIP ticket available for $150, which includes a pre-event cocktail reception. No tickets will be sold at the door. To reserve space please call (949) 515-5400 ext. 34, and ask for Ashley Carlton, or e-mail [email protected].

The highly fashionable Tory Burch will present the Guilds of the Center’s 14th Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon on March 19 at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel.

Fortune Magazine has described the Burch fashion line as this season’s “It Girl.”

Newport’s Carol Wilken will serve as the honorary chairwoman of the massive fashion luncheon. Tickets are $150 and $250. For more information, call Rachael Scandling at (714) 556-2122 ext. 4259.

Sunday the Irvine Barclay Theatre will present a 1:30 p.m. concert featuring the Newport Beach Instrumental Ensemble known as Hutchins Consort.

The performance will be delivered in honor and celebration of International Women’s Day, a global referendum on the economic political and social achievements of women around the world.

The Hutchins Consort was created by American Composer and Luthier Dr. Carleen Hutchins. The program will feature an assortment of music from female composers throughout history. Last minute tickets may be purchased by calling the Irvine Barclay Theatre at (949) 854-4646 or go to www.thebarclay.org.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.