THE CROWD:

She stood at the podium and graciously thanked her husband, Kent, Kent, her son Matt and his wife, Kelly, and a room of some 500 men and women who had come to honor Carol Wilken and the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Surrounded by Center President Terry Dwyer and chairwoman of the annual Guilds of the Center Fashion Show Luncheon Carol Piturro-Kentner and Guilds chairwoman Marilyn McCorkle, Wilken began to cry.

Perhaps it was because Julia Argyros had just introduced her in a fashion so complimentary it would have brought tears to anyone’s eyes, or perhaps it was simply because being honored by her community for 30 years of service was a very special and meaningful moment.

It was The Guilds of the Center 14th Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon held at the chic Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel, which has been handsomely refurbished. The massive crowd came to offer homage to Wilken and to reaffirm the all-important community connection to the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

By the end of the afternoon the guild’s luncheon raised $60,000, which will be used to support the center’s education programs. The center is Orange County’s largest and most important nonprofit arts organization.

The mid-week celebration began with a champagne reception and silent auction that included more than 100 donated auction items provided by generous local merchants. This season’s luncheon also included a grand prize drawing for a Mercedes-Benz SLK300 roadster convertible.

Approximately 2,000 tickets were sold at $100 per ticket and the winner was an astounded McCorkle, the guild’s chair, who confided that she had just purchased one more ticket that morning. And that was the winning ticket. Other lucky winners of the day included Erin Praefke, who took home the Holland America Line Cruise for two. Black, Starr & Frost donated 18K white, gold and diamond baguette earrings, which went to Kristi Ritoch. And finally, Velma Shivers was the fortunate winner of a Hawaiian getaway at the Four Seasons in Lanai, Hawaii.

Following the champagne reception, guests were invited into the grand ballroom of the Westin and seated at tables surrounding an elevated fashion show runway. A standing ovation in honor of Wilken followed a biographical film of her life in Orange County, which was narrated by Argyros.

There are many luncheons on the social calendar that honor both women and men throughout the year for their charitable contributions. Many of these honors are, frankly speaking, simply about money donated to a cause. In the case of Wilken, it’s not just about the money.

The Wilkens have been exceedingly generous over three decades in Orange County, putting them at the very top of the donor list for a number of significant endeavors in addition to the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Not only do they donate significant funds, but Wilken is a worker who rolls up her sleeves, shows up for meetings any time of the day or night, pitches in whenever asked, helps to raise additional funds whenever needed, and has emerged as a true leader in the nonprofit world of Orange County society.

She left the podium and rejoined her husband, extended family and friends at the prime table at the very tip of the fashion runway. The lights dimmed, the beat of the music began to fill the ballroom and a vibrant and energetic fashion show featuring the ultra popular fashion lines of Tory Burch hit the runway.

Burch, a beautiful and classic-looking blond, mother of three sons, grew up in Valley Forge, Penn., attended the University of Pennsylvania and headed for New York City to go to work in the fashion business.

Following career moves with Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang and Narciso Rodriguez, Burch launched her own business in 2004 in what has been defined as “Classic American sportswear with an eclectic sensibility.”

Today, Burch operates 17 boutiques all across the United States including South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and her clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry and cosmetics can also be found in some 400 specialty department stores nationwide.

She has emerged as a powerful force in the contemporary fashion business, and on this midweek day in Costa Mesa, her models paraded showing off her simple, stylish and colorful clothing that is supremely youthful, yet is worn by women of all ages.

Burch may indeed be the next generation of Ralph Lauren, taking classic American style and giving it a whimsical kick in the pants. “Polo” meets the new-age sensibility head-on.

Spotted in the crowd was the chic Newport Coast hostess Sally Crockett, who looks like Burch, wearing the identical dress worn by the first model coming out on the catwalk. Corona del Mar’s Eve Kornyei looked glamorous in her simple A-line dress, sleeveless with a scoop neck, no pattern with lots of color.

Donna Anderson, Terry Adams, the always elegant Zee Allred, Nancy Baldwin, Marta Bhathal, Bette Aitken, Catherine Emmi, Shari Esayian, Kathy Fleming, Carole Follman, and Barbara Glabman were all very glamorous and front and center in support of Orange County arts.

Also in the crowd were Gerrie Goodreau, Mary Cramer, Gail Daniels, Loretta Freund, Ellie Gordon, Marie St. John Gray, Leslie Cancellieri, Twyla Martin, Liz Merage, Judy Morr, Shirley Pepys, Rita Snyder, Bobbitt Williams, Joan Williams and Ciel Woodman.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.