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s t a n l e y • F a i r f i e l d • S h o sh o n e • P i c a b o
Sun Valley Tree Lighting and Other Holiday Celebrations Page 8
Ann Parry Explains the Christmas Price Index on 12 Days of Christmas
Croy Canyon Ranch Foundation Honors Outgoing President Jeanne Cassell
Page 16
Dr. Crais Talks About the Gift of Giving
read about it on PaGe 6
Page 19
D e c e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 2 • Vo l . 5 • N o . 5 0 • w w w.T h e We e k l y S u n . c o m
Professional photographer Amy Taylor took this picture of Anna Camille Grilloni leading dancers at last year’s Boutonniere Ball.
FILE PHOTO
Luminaries to Spark Help for Hungry BY KAREN BOSSICK
L
ight the night and feed a hungry child. Several Wood River Valley neighborhoods are again coming together to light luminaries to raise money for The Hunger Coalition. The mass lighting will take place at dusk Sunday, Dec. 23. And all proceeds from the sale of the luminaries will be given to The Hunger Coalition. The Coalition is currently receiving requests for help from middle-class people who lost their jobs in the recession and have depleted their savings, said one spokesman. Each bag and candle costs a dollar. Most homeowners purchase an average of 20 to line their street or sidewalks, said Lee Dabney. The ninehour candles will burn out on their own, Dabney said. Dabney started the tradition seven years ago, beginning with her neighborhood in Northridge on Hailey’s north side. Since then, other neighborhoods have taken up the cause, as well—most notably, Hulen Meadows, Deerfield and Old Hailey. The luminaries have raised $30,000 for The Hunger Coalition in the past seven years, Dabney said. “That’s kind of cool. It’s a lot of money when you consider each bag is just a dollar,” said Dabney. “It’s a really beautiful tradition and it raises lots of funds. And even just a dollar makes a difference. It’s amazing how much The Hunger Coalition can stretch a dollar.” Luminaries—paper bags weighted with sand and illuminated with candles—have long been a tradition in Mexico where the faithful hoped the lights would guide the spirit of the Christ child to their homes. In recent times, they’ve been adopted as secular decorations, akin to Christmas lights. Dabney is leaving bags and candles on the doorstep of her house at 620 Kintail Drive north of Hailey, along with an envelope in which people can leave checks. Anyone wishing to help can call tws Dabney at 578-0861.
Next Week: The Weekly Sun celebrates volunteers & the organizations they serve.
give.
Anna Camille Grilloni
BY KAREN BOSSICK
nna Camille Grilloni’s closet opens onto a fantastical world of make believe. There’s a blue-green gown that evokes thoughts of “The Little Mermaid,” thanks to its scales of shimmering sequins and a mermaid-like flair at the bottom. There’s a Venetian silk gown with a peacock feather headdress that Las Vegas showgirls would wear. There are 1700’s Renaissance ball gowns that would fit right in at a carnival with Mozart or Casanova. There’s a new “tropical gown” that bursts with every color in the universe down to the silk flowers that make up the shoulder strap. There’s even an Audrey Hepburn dress and dresses from her “Mad Men” collection. Camille, as her friends know her, is a fashionista back home in Italy where she grew up. Here, she’s the proprietress of La Dolce Vita Fashion Design, Accessories and Consulting. In short, she helps women—and men—get dolled up for those special occasions, whether it’s the perfect mountain wedding or Saturday night’s hospital ball. “All the world’s a stage—why not play the part,” she chatters in her lilting Italian accent. “Oscar Wilde said it better than I ever could in his ‘Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young’: ‘One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art.’ And, while we are free to strive toward the for-
mer, slightly pretentious ideal, there is no doubt that the latter can be more easily attained!” Grilloni’s passion for fashion dates back to childhood—her mother just found some of her earliest designs while cleaning out the closet. She designed a flapper-style costume for Carnival when she was seven. As a young woman the 5-foot9, 114-pound romantic turned model. She followed that up with a career as a clothing designer. “I have never gotten over fairy tales, whether it is the animated feature ‘Cinderella’ or the movie ‘Sabrina’ with Audrey Hepburn. I’m a nut for the glamorous divas of the ’40s and ’50s. And I can go on for hours singing songs from some of their movies,” Grilloni said, launching into a song from “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Chocolat, her toy poodle with a shaggy hairdo that resembles Albert Einstein’s or Ludwig Van Beethoven’s, knows the cue. She launches up onto her hind legs and begins spinning around the kitchen. Winter is ball time, starting with St. Luke’s ball this past Saturday night. And that makes it Grilloni’s favorite season of the year. “Italians care about how you package yourself all day long. I love it here because I can dress casual in the morning and then dress up like a princess in the evening. I adore to dress up at night,” said Grilloni, who has also been spotted wearing lace on her snowboard when the occasion calls for it. Grilloni offers a scrapbook of Asian brocades from Hong Kong, Chinese silks, taffetas and Venezia romantic brocades dating back to the 1500s for her clients to choose from. She also offers a line of unusual accessories, including elegant, one-of-a-kind leggings with sequins from Italy, Venetian masks and choker-type necklaces that she’s designed to set off her corsets and gowns. Ketchum resident Connie Hoffman remembers fondly an open house Grilloni had—the kind where women were shoving their feet into each others’ backs to help them get into the corsets. “Her fashions are very feminine, sensual and exquisite,” she said. Sun Valley resident Alma Mills has a few of Grilloni’s gowns, as well as
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Open H ouse December 20 4-8pm
SheepSkin Coat FaCtory A Legend Lives On
A Tradition of Warmth Since 1971 511 Sun Valley Road • Ketchum, Idaho 83340 • 208.726.3588 brendaknorton@yahoo.com • www.sheepskincoat.com