WCA’s Happy Hour-and-a-Half is a virtual triumph!

By Emily Berkowitz, WCA Coordinator-at-Large

There were drinks, laughter, singing, astonished looks, surprises and applause — not at all unusual for a Women’s Cultural Alliance (WCA) event. But for the first time, the party happened online, as WCA held its “Happy Hour-and-a-Half” on Zoom in lieu of its annual “Welcome Back Luncheon.” The outcome, though, was just as joyous a celebration of community, thanks to a marvelous creative team headed by WCA Special Events Coordinator Linda Simon.

Linda, who has created the highly successful welcome back luncheons for the last eight years, said she faced special challenges this year, in light of the pandemic.

“I have produced large, complex onsite events for over 25 years, but doing my first Zoom event, especially one of this complexity, required a coordinated effort from a whole team of people. I truly couldn’t have done it successfully without them,” she remarked.

This team of wizards included Marsha Morantz, Robin Mintz, Phyllis Strome, Lea Bendes, Ann Cowen, Susan Pittelman, Ida Margolis, Toby Kosloff and Nancy Kahn.

Attendees enjoyed a varied, alwaysentertaining program. New WCA President Patti Boochever warmly welcomed all the guests and lauded Linda and her team for initiating, planning and executing such a spectacular event.

President Emerita Elaine Soffer followed, thanking the WCA Board members for all their work and contributions over the years of her presidency. Board member Lea Bendes, on the Board’s behalf, thanked Elaine for her years of leadership and surprised her with a handblown, vibrant-red glass heart.

“I very happily shared my delightful surprise, courtesy of the Board and Lea Bendes with everyone,” Elaine said. “I was charmed by her remarks. I will absolutely treasure the beautiful heart and the shared WCA memories it represents.”

After Jewish Federation of Greater Naples (JFGN) President Jeffrey Feld and Federation Board Chair Jane Schiff welcomed attendees, the four-part virtual entertainment was off to a delightful start, with the charming WCA member Gayle Dorio as host. Drink in hand, she introduced Gil Barros, a Boston, Massachusetts celebrity mixologist, who created three different signature WCA cocktails, the ingredients for which had been provided earlier to all attendees. With easy-to-follow instructions, he shared lots of tips.

“The secret to making drinks,” Gil said, “is like making food. Use your favorite ingredients.”

Attendees then thoroughly enjoyed the irresistible Loretta LaRoche, an Emmy Award-winning comedienne, speaker, author and stress management/humor consultant. Weaving wisdom into her stand-up routine, she reminded the audience that an antidote to stress might be to let go of trivial matters and laugh at ourselves, citing the adage, “Laughter is the best medicine.”

Other stress busters? Try singing, dancing or dressing in costumes, Ms. Laroche offered. Donning a red clown-nose and other costumes, she was always giggleinducing, her insights wrapped in humor.

Music took center stage with on- and off-Broadway music director/arranger Andrew Wheeler, who is also a brilliant performer. With great passion, he swept the audience away with vocal favorites from “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady,” “Hairspray” and “Dear Evan Hansen.” It was thrilling to enjoy his superb performance.

Magician Ben Seidman, Princess Cruises’ Entertainer of the Year and resident magician at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, was the next entertainer to truly take everyone’s breath away. He astounded the audience. His sleight-ofhand tricks were masterfully performed, proving that his art is equally mesmerizing in virtual form. Most attendees will likely always wonder how he was able to imperceptibly change into different clothing by the end of his act, though the proof was in the photos the attendees had taken at the start of his performance.

WCA performed magic of its own, by creating a virtual event that delighted, entertained and exuded warmth and friendship. In addition, WCA followed its annual luncheon tradition of supporting the Naples Senior Center and the JFGN Jewish Summer Scholarship Fund by giving proceeds of this event to support Holocaust survivors at the Naples Senior Center, the JFGN Scholarship Fund and the local Harry Chapin Food Bank.

WCA member Flory Herman echoed others’ comments, “Kudos to WCA for creating a much-needed hour-and a-half of entertainment. It was special to know I shared it with so many friends with whom I previously gathered in person. The music and mind-blowing magic were second to none. I want more!”

The community of friendship, a hallmark of WCA, is off to a brilliant new season.