Bradie James will speak at a March 23rd fundraiser.

The 17^thannual Puttin’ on the Pink Fashion Luncheon, with the Dallas Cowboys lineback Bradie James as the featured speaker, is set for March 23 at the Fort Worth Convention Center

The event to benefit women’s health screenings, breast diagnostics and educational materials for the underserved of Tarrant County will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a reception followed by an 11:30 a.m. fashion show and luncheon. During the luncheon guests will hear James speak about how cancer impacted his life with the loss of his mother to breast cancer during his sophomore year at Louisiana State University.  He has since launched Foundation 56 to honor his mother’s memory by helping others overcome the devastating disease.

Since 1991, sponsors have contributed more than $2.8 million to Puttin’ on the Pink, which is hosted by the Kupferle Health Board of the Texas Health Harris Methodist Foundation.  Contributions from these sponsors has underwritten three mobile mammography units that have provided screening mammograms to more than 38,000 women and other programs.

Individual tickets for the fundraiser are $100, and table sponsorships are still available.  For more information and raffle ticket purchases, visit www.texashealth.org/pop or call 817-317-5248.

Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman escort a young model at the 2009 Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon. The pair of quarterbacks will return for the 2010 fundraiser.

Honorary co-chairs Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach are huddled up for The 22^ndAnnual Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon and Fashion Show, a fundraiser for Children’s Cancer Fund. The event is set for 11:30 a.m. April 23 in the Chantilly Ballroom of the Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas.

With the theme “Bright Stars. Bright Hope,” the luncheon will be preceded by a champagne reception and silent auction at 10 a.m.  Then luncheon co-chairwomen Marisa Huckin and Adelina Kainer will present celebrities teamed with 43 young cancer patients and numerous pediatric cancer survivors in a special runway show, sponsored by Dillard’s.  KDFW FOX 4 Anchors Steve Eagar and Clarice Tinsley will serve as masters of ceremonies at the event. 

Among those serving as runway escorts for the Children’s Medical Center patients modeling in this year’s fashion show will be Daryl and Diane Johnston, Drew Pearson, Scott Murray, Jocelyn White and current members of the Dallas Cowboys.

Tickets for the Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon and Fashion Show are $150 each, and tables of 10 are available for $1,250.  For reservations and more information, please contact Children’s Cancer Fund at 972-664-1450 or visit the Web site at www.childrenscancerfund.net.  Proceeds from the event will help advance pediatric cancer research and treatment programs at Children’s Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center. Since its inception in 1982, Children’s Cancer Fund has donated more than $7 million to help find a cure for childhood cancer.

Among the programs supported by Children’s Cancer Fund are the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program at Children’s Medical Center and the Children’s Cancer Fund Comprehensive Center for Research in Pediatric Oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. 

Children’s Cancer Fund has created a special calendar book for this year’s luncheon that may be purchased during and after the event in support of pediatric cancer research.  Provided by the T.C. Lupton, Jr. Family Foundation, the calendar will include original artwork by young cancer patients.  Calendars are $25 each, with proceeds going to Children’s Cancer Fund.  To purchase copies in advance or after the luncheon, please call Children’s Cancer Fund at 972-664-1450 or visit www.childrenscancerfund.net.

Designer handbags are planned as a special calorie-free “dessert” at The Special Olympics Texas Bag Ladies Luncheon, planned for 11:30 a.m. Friday at Rolling Hills Country Club, 401 Lamar Blvd. East, Arlington.

The event will feature a keynote address by recording artist Melissa Lawson, winner of “Nashville Star” and Arlington resident. Lunch will be followed by a designer handbag raffle as part of the fund-raising effort for Special Olympics.

Tables can be purchased for $600 and individual tickets are available for $50. Additional tickets for the purse drawing can be purchased for $25 each. For more information, please contact the Greater Fort Worth area office of Special Olympics at 817-332-3433.

Special Olympics Texas is a privately funded, non-profit organization that provides year-round sports training and competition for more than 32,240 children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the state. More information is available by visiting www.specialolympicstexas.org.

The Halo Society, an auxiliary dedicated to helping abused children, will host it annual fundraiser, Cowtown Casino, from 7 to 11 p.m. March 6 at River Ranch, 500 N.E. 23 St, Fort Worth.

Casino games, a silent auction, dancing and food are planned for the benefit. Individual tickets cost $75 per person.

Halo Society is a business and networking group dedicated to abused and neglected foster children in Tarrant County. Cowtown Casino is one of four service projects the club organizes annually.

More information is available by contacting event chairwoman Katherine Dell at 817-992-2185 or visiting www.halosociety.com.

Kathy Whitworth

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth will benefit from the 2010 Kathy Whitworth Invitational (www.kathywhitworthinvitational.com) to be held March 14-16 at the Mira Vista Country Club in Fort Worth.

Proceeds from this international junior girls golf championship nationally ranked by Golfweek/Titleist and recognized by the AJGA Polo Golf Rankings will benefit the non-profit organization, which helps more than 12,000 disadvantaged Fort Worth youth each year. Sponsorship opportunities are still available, and details can be found at www.kathywhitworthinvitational.com

Whitworth, seven-time LPGA Player of the Year, boasts six major wins and 88 career wins, an all-time record for both men’s and women’s U.S. Tours. She was the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1965 and 1967, was inducted into the LPGA’s Hall of Fame in 1975 and won the PGA First Lady of Golf Award in 2006.

This year, 72 girls aged 12 to 18, from as close as Fort Worth and as far as South Korea, will compete in the Kathy Whitworth Invitational. Fourteen of those girls hail from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and they include Tezira Abe, Arlington; Talia Campbell, Dallas; Grace Choi, Dallas; Emily Collins, Colleyville; Susanna Feather, Fort Worth; Katie Grady, Mansfield; Kaci McCarten, Plano; April McCoy, Carrollton; Chelsea Mocio, Fort Worth; Rachel Mulkey, Flower Mound; Jennifer Park, Carrollton; Natalie Reeves, Euless; Amy Ruengmateekhun, Garland; and Chaney Uhles, Fort Worth.

International competitors will include golfers from Taiwan, Thailand, Czech Republic, South Korea, Mexico, Canada, England, Italy, Japan, Philippines and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Kathy Whitworth Invitational was established in 1999 with two primary goals: to give talented girls the opportunity to participate at the highest tier of competitive golf on a premier championship course and to generate funds to support the mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth.

“The young women who take part in this tournament are truly the golf stars of the future,” said Kathy Whitworth, “and what an honor it is for all of us to be part of the amazing work that the Boys & Girls Club accomplishes in this community.”

Whitworth currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and co-leads a youth golf clinic each year with the Mira Vista Country Club golf staff, prior to the invitational. This year, the clinic will be held at 5:30 p.m. March 11 and will include more than 100 disadvantaged youth from this area.
call 817.834.4711 or visit www.kathywhitworthinvitational.com for details.

The Colleyville Woman’s Club 25th Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show Benefit, this year entitled “Rhythm and Hues,” has been set for March 26 at the Hyatt Regency DFW Hotel.

Saks Fifth Avenue at the Dallas Galleria will once again combine with Jan Strimple Productions for the event featuring emcee Scott Murray. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for the charitable event’s live, silent and big board auctions.

Tables for 10 with premier runway seating cost $1,500, and platinum tables with premium seating are $1,250. Gold tables are $1000, and individual tickets are also available. For information and to purchase tickets, visit the Web site at www.c-w-c.org, email info@c-w-c.org or phone the CWC hotline at 817-358-1805.

In 2009, Colleyville Woman’s Club donated more than $135,000 to local charities. The mission of the club is to enhance the community through education, volunteer service, charitable fundraising and other member activities.

Chairwoman Sheila Jayne Reynolds

Tarrant County’s annual Go Red For Women event, sponsored by the American Heart Association, is set for Feb. 16 at The Omni Fort Worth Hotel.

The fundraiser will begin with a mimosa reception at 10:30 a.m., which will include a silent auction. Also featured will be Estee Lauder lipstick stations where women can find the perfect shade of red.

With Sheila Jane Reynolds serving as luncheon chairwoman and Joyce Pate Capper taking the honorary chairwoman post, the luncheon and program are scheduled for noon. The event, taking place during National Heart Month, emphasizes heart health for women will be themed “Faces of Heart.”

Reynolds, who lost her mother to heart disease, said  ‘My mother really wanted to live a long and healthy life but didn’t have the chance.  This is why I ‘Go Red’ this February with the American Heart Association in Tarrant County. Together, we can all make a difference and save a life right here in our community.’

For more information or to purchase a ticket, call 817-698-5411.

“Visions of Vegas - Playing for Others,”  the third annual Southlake Newcomers Club casino fundraiser, is set for 6 p.m. March 6 at the Southlake Hilton. 

The event will be filled with casino gaming, auctions and live entertainment, with proceeds going to the club’s charitable causes. Tickets in advance are priced at $50 per person and $95 per couple. At the door, individual tickets will be priced at $60. Information is available at 817-233-3371 or at www.southlakenewcomers.com.

 The Southlake Newcomers Club,  a 501(c)3 charitable organization, has donated more than $70,000 the past two years to local charities and scholarships for high school seniors.  The organization, open to residents of Southlake and neighboring communities, is a social and civic club providing opportunities for friendship, community service and becoming acquainted the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The “souper” fundraiser, Empty Bowls, will feature savory soups, delicious desserts and artistic bowls at the annual event, to be held this year from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 19 at Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall, Will Rogers Memorial Center, 3401 W. Lancaster, Fort Worth.

This special luncheon, which benefits Tarrant Area Food Bank, is an opportunity to taste soups and desserts from top Fort Worth chefs, plus select a handmade bowl from among 2,000 created or painted by professional, recreational and student artists.

Tickets cost $25 and are sold only in advance, either online at www.tafb.org or by calling Susan Frye, community events director, at 817-332-9177, extension 10. Susan Frye, Community Events Director, 817-332-9177, ext. 110.

Empty Bowls’ proceeds benefit Tarrant Area Food Bank, founded in 1982. The non-profit organization is the primary source of donated food for 300 major hunger-relief programs in Fort Worth and the surrounding counties of Tarrant, Denton, Johnson, Hood, Parker, Cooke, Bosque, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, Palo Pinto, Somervell and Wise. Each month, the network distributes groceries to more than 40,000 families and serves more than 500,000 meals and snacks on agency sites. For details, visit www.tafb.org.

Dallas Summer Musicals will celebrate its 70^th season of live theatrical entertainment by presenting 12 touring Broadway productions, 10 at the Music Hall at Fair Park, and 2 shows at The Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas.  

The Color Purple will lead off the celebration for the year 2010, opening its two-week run Jan. 19 at the Music Hall at Fair Park. Other Broadway hits included in this year’s anniversary season will be The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, The Color Purple, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and last year’s surprise hit, Rain, A Tribute to the Beatles.  New musical offerings will include The 101 Dalmatians, starring Rachel York, and Little House on the Prairie, the Musical, starring Melissa Gilbert as Ma, plus straight-from-Broadway shows such as The 39 Steps, Xanadu and Dreamgirls. Shrek The Musical will be highlight the three weeks that the 2010 State Fair of Texas is in operation.

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM) is the largest producer of live theatrical entertainment in the Southwest, the second oldest summer theater organization in the United States and the sixth largest non-profit theater company.  DSM has been entertaining North Texas audiences with the finest in live musical theatre entertainment since 1941.  In addition to presenting national Broadway tours, DSM also produces shows on Broadway, presents and tours local productions, and is involved in developing new works.  Dallas Summer Musicals’ affiliates include DSM Management Group, Inc. (DSMMGI), which manages the Music Hall at Fair Park and the historic Majestic Theatre.  

DSM SEASONS AT A GLANCE

THE STAGE LEFT SERIES:

 ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S THE 39 STEPS, Jan. 26-31 at The Majestic Theatre.

 RAIN, A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES, March 16-21at the Music Hall at Fair Park.   

STAGE RIGHT SERIES:

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Feb. 17-March 14 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.   

XANADU, April 6-18 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.  

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, THE MUSICAL, starring Melissa Gilbert as Ma, May 11-23at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

WICKED, May 26-June 27 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

DREAMGIRLS, June 30-July 18at the Music Hall at Fair Park.nal material by Willy Reale.

SHREK THE MUSICAL, Sept. 28-Oct. 17at the Music Hall at Fair Park.  SEASON SPECIALS: 

Oprah Winfrey Presents THE COLOR PURPLE, Jan. 19-24 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER , April 20-25 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Season tickets are on sale now at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, with Stage Left Series priced from $48 to $264, and Stage Right Series from $115 to $457.  Single tickets for the subscribers’ specials range from $12-$85.  For more information about the DSM season, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.dallassummermusicals.org.  There is a handling fee for orders placed by phone or internet.  For groups of 20 or more please call 214-426-GROUP.

For those preferring the flexibility of picking their own shows, custom packages of at least four shows from the entire season are available for as little as $48 a package.  There is no deadline for custom orders.

Season sponsors for Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, are The Dallas Morning News, WFAA TV Channel 8, and American Airlines.

As a non-profit organization, DSM relies on a variety of funding sources to bring the Best of Broadway to Dallas at affordable ticket prices, as well as to preserve the beautiful historic theatres, educate young audiences and create important community programs.  DSM’s Seats for Kids program provides a meaningful arts education experience to thousands of low income, at-risk and special needs children. DSM and the Dallas Police Department partner together to provide positive incentives for youth that are at risk for gang membership through the Stage Right program. In addition, The Dallas Summer Musicals Academy of Performing Arts offers professional theatre arts training and scholarships to talented students in need.  Ticket sales alone do not sustain these endeavors.  Only support from committed businesses, foundations and individuals make these programs possible. For more information about Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica, visit their website at www.dallassummermusicals.org or call (214) 421-5678.